God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

12/08/2012 • 8:08 am Comments Off on Getting older in South Africa

Getting older in South Africa

Life expectancy has unexpectedly jumped from 54 to 60 in 3 years in South Africa. This great news was published end November in the prestigious “The Lancet” journal.  Co-author Professor Salim Abdool Karim described the 10 percent increase in life expectancy from the age of 54 to 60 in three short years as “absolutely stunning”. The main reason for the dramatic increase in life expectancy has been the massive expansion of the country’s HIV treatment programme, now reaching around 1.8 million people. So there is indeed proof that antiretroviral treatment gives not only life back to those infected but also brings back quality, length and all the other changes a country needed to survive and prosper. To read the article from Kerry Cullinan click here.

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12/03/2012 • 4:27 pm Comments Off on The day after…

The day after…

Graph showing HIV copies and CD4 counts in a h...

Graph showing HIV copies and CD4 counts in a human over the course of a treatment-naive HIV infection (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

… is a movie called trying to imagine the aftermath of a war with nuclear weapons.
The day after is also a feeling one get’s after the first of December every year. All speeches are done, all ribbons distributed and the press focuses again on other issues while the church hurries to prepare for Christmas. It leaves those working with HIV, living with HIV, struggling for treatment somehow in the limbo till next December, 1st…

But obviously it is not that bleak – and the there is a goal to reach – to cut down to zero new infections but to achieve this, there is a steep way in front of us. It requires all our energy on different levels:

Those in power must shift the money they spend of killing people to research, prevention and treatment; not only of HIV but also other medical and social conditions. It is indeed very much a disturbance to see that for warfare and the kill always money is at hand, while for humanity and the sake of those less fortune, there is always a fight. And the outcome is – compared to the expenses for war preparations – simply laughable. This has to change if we want to succeed.

Those living with the virus must make an effort to live responsible and being an advocate in their own rights. But obviously this can only happen if they have the tools and education to reflect on their situation with adequate knowledge.

There must be room for short and long-term interventions. Churches should stop putting devil and hell onto condoms as this comes as the safest intervention for those sexual active. Instead they can contribute towards long-term strategies of changing human habits. I guess nobody is fond of the idea of a 9-year-old boy having sex. Puberty is coming earlier – that’s also true. So what can we do to bring the ability to have sex and the mindset of responsibility together?

The Global AIDS Fund is the right tool to distribute donations and oversee progress in a global way. Government should stop contravening global efforts in bi-national agreements which put to rest the achievements of global negotiations and multinational agreements.

There is more to strive for and let’s put all our thoughts and energy together to make the world infection free for the start. So that World AIDS Day celebrates the victory of human civilization over a pandemic which threatened and killed millions of women and men, especially those on the more vulnerable side of life.

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11/29/2012 • 7:04 pm Comments Off on Ahead of World AIDS Day CEO’s call to end HIV travel restrictions

Ahead of World AIDS Day CEO’s call to end HIV travel restrictions

English: World map of travel & residence restr...

English: World map of travel & residence restrictions against people with HIV/AIDS: http://www.aidsmap.co. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Global leaders oppose policies as discriminatory and bad for business

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 28 November 2012—This World AIDS Day, Chief Executives (CEO’s) from some of the world’s largest companies are calling for an end to travel restrictions for people living with HIV. More than 40 CEOs have signed an unprecedented pledge urging the repeal of laws and policies in 45 countries that still deport, detain or deny entry to people solely because they are living with HIV.

The CEOs represent nearly 2 million employees in industries from banking to mining, travel to technology. They include companies like Johnson & Johnson, The Coca-Cola Company, Pfizer, Heineken, Merck, the National Basketball Association, Kenya Airways and Thomson Reuters. “HIV travel restrictions are discriminatory and bad for business,” said Chip Bergh, President & CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. “Global business leaders are coming together to make sure we end these unreasonable restrictions.” The CEO pledge is an initiative of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Levi Strauss & Co. and GBCHealth, a coalition of companies that address global health challenges. “Restrictions on entry, stay and residence for people living with HIV are discriminatory and a violation of human rights,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Every individual should have equal access to freedom of movement. I urge all countries to remove all such restrictions based on HIV status.”

CEOs oppose HIV travel restrictions because they are discriminatory and because to succeed in today’s globalized economy, companies must be able to send their employees and best talent overseas, regardless of their HIV status. “It’s time to send HIV travel restrictions packing,” said Kenneth Cole, CEO of Kenneth Cole Productions. “Using our collective might, I believe we can use our influence to eliminate these discriminatory practices.” The United States of America lifted its 22-year HIV travel ban in 2010. Other countries, including Armenia, China, Fiji, Moldova, Namibia and Ukraine, have also recently removed such restrictions. However, 45 countries still deny entry, stay, residence or work visas for people living with HIV. These countries include major hubs for international business. “Travel restrictions on individuals with HIV are unnecessary and hinder the ability for individuals and companies to operate in a truly global workforce,” said Mark Bertolini, Chairman, CEO & President of Aetna. Most HIV-travel restrictions were imposed by governments in the 1980s when less was known about the transmission of HIV, and treatment didn’t exist. Since then, we’ve learned how to effectively prevent, manage and treat HIV. Travel restrictions vary in different countries and can include preventing people living with HIV from entering altogether or deporting foreigners once their HIV status is discovered. Restrictions also include denying work visas, prohibiting short-terms stays for business trips or conferences and blocking longer-term stays or residence for work relocations and study abroad programs. The CEO call to end HIV-related travel restrictions, first launched at the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., comes on the eve of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s release of a blueprint that outlines the goals and objectives for the next phase of the United States’ effort to achieve an AIDS-Free Generation.

“Eliminating HIV travel restrictions is a win-win,” said GBCHealth Managing Director and Co-President Michael Schreiber.  “It’s the right thing to do from a humanitarian perspective and the right thing to do from a business perspective.”

Participating CEOs:

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Group Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank Plc;  Mark Bertolini, Chairman, CEO and President, Aetna; Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive, Anglo American plc; Vincent A. Forlenza,  Chairman of the Board, CEO and President, BD; Debra Lee, Chairman & CEO, BET Networks;  Andy Burness, President, Burness Communications; Lamberto Andreotti, CEO, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Muhtar Kent, Chairman of the Board and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company;  Richard Edelman, President & CEO, Edelman;  Mark R. Kramer, Founder and Managing Director,  FSG;  Glenn K. Murphy, Chairman and CEO, Gap Inc.;Jonathan D. Klein, CEO and Co-Founder, Getty Images;  John C. Martin, PhD, Chairman and CEO, Gilead Sciences, Inc.;  Karl-Johan Persson, CEO, H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB;  Dr. Chris Kirubi, Chairman, Haco Tiger Brands;  Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, Chairman of the Executive Board/CEO, HEINEKEN NV;  Victor Y. Yuan, Chairman, Horizon Research and Consultancy Group;  Bong Yong Dam, CEO, Hub One International Company Ltd;  Jena Gardner, President & CEO, JG Black Book of Travel;  Alex Gorsky, Chief Executive Officer, Johnson & Johnson;  Kenneth Cole, CEO, Kenneth Cole Productions; Dr .Titus Naikuni, MD and CEO, Kenya Airways Ltd;  Chip Bergh, President & CEO, Levi Strauss & Co.;  Kaushik Shah, CEO/Director, Mabati Rolling Mills Ltd;  Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman and CEO, Merck;  Heather Bresch, CEO, Mylan; David J. Stern, Commissioner, National Basketball Association (NBA); Blake Nordstrom, President, Nordstrom, Inc.;  Ji Yong, General Manager, Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd; Douglas A. Michels, President & CEO, OraSure Technologies, Inc.; Ian C. Read, Chairman and CEO, Pfizer Inc.; Tzameret Fuerst, CEO, Prepex;  Bob Collymore, CEO, Safaricom; Hiromasa Yonekura, Chairman, Sumitomo Chemical;  Liam E. McGee, Chairman, President and CEO, The Hartford;  James C. Smith, CEO, Thomson Reuters; Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, CEO, Vestergaard Frandsen;  Philippe Dauman, President & CEO, Viacom; Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Unite;  Melissa Waggener Zorkin, CEO, President & Founder, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide;  Andy Payne, CEO, Wilderness Holdings Ltd;  David Sable, CEO, Y&R;  William H. Roedy, AIDS Activist and former Chairman, MTVN International

 

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Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, Politics and Society, Religion and Ethics, Society and living environment, , , , , , , , ,

11/27/2012 • 8:29 pm 5

World AIDS Day around the corner

Once again it is short before World AIDS Day and as usual on such a day and before, the media and the politicians have their say about success and failures of HIV and AIDS treatment, prevention work, vaccine studies and all the rest. Once a year the world is made aware of the syndrome killing still scores of people and triggering despair, tears, hopelessness, desperation but also a willingness to fight and not to give up. Have we done enough in the time since the last World AIDS Day? Has research been successful in coming closer to a vaccine? Have fewer people been exposed to the virus? Is there more prevention willingness and treatment options in the global village? Well, according to UNAIDS yes, we have done major steps in the right direction, but we also know how close we are to fail millions of people because of lack of funding. The economic meltdown, the financial crisis, the Euro battle captures our minds and hearts and I wish one would worry as much about those suffering from HIV or TB or Malaria or any other of theses for poor people mostly life threatening diseases. While the USA and other Countries spend millions and millions a day for the war in Afghanistan or undercover in Syria or elsewhere research and the good thing s for live have still to struggle for funding. The world has indeed not learned the lesson of holding up the dignity of people, instead it pays for the destruction of land, people and material goods.

While I appreciate the progress and worry about the still high numbers of non-treated people and new infections, I cannot be silent about the injustice which is reflected in the battle against HIV and AIDS. And this pandemic is only an example that we are as human mankind still far away from getting the values right we proudly proclaim in our national constitutions: that life and dignity is to be protected at all times and all costs as it is the highest value we have.

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Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, Medical and Research, Networking, Politics and Society, Reflection, Religion and Ethics, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

11/21/2012 • 8:43 pm Comments Off on A melody my heart cannot resist..

A melody my heart cannot resist..

It was after a four-week trip to Europe: I was sitting and eating my decent dinner at a restaurant. Next to it a construction side where on that Saturday afternoon work was in full progress and it was loud and noisy. And suddenly it happened:

English: Coat of Arms of South Africa Deutsch:...

the realization that I was indeed back at the right place: Cape Town and South Africa. It seems that this moment condensed somehow all my feelings for this country. While others check their passports and planing for their kids a career outside South Africa, while crime and madness are running high before the big ANC conference, while strikes turning more and more violent – even while I consider the glass only half full in the moment for South Africa myself I knew it deep in my heart: Here is my place to be for the rest of my life. Amazing the certainty of feeling – the feeling of belonging – the sensation that I have found my destiny.

Maybe I knew it all along after almost 16 years, but now I can point a finger to a moment in time where it became an almost emotional certainty.
I am aware I will almost speak, write and think with an accent in my English and I will always stand there being astonished about the turns of life as it only can happen in Africa. I am aware I can never catch up with the enthusiasm of cricket, rugby and all the sports, I can never be a real  South African – but in my heart, South Africa has formed a melody I cannot resist.

I have always felt that my life has a meaning and I am sure that this cornerstone of realization also means something in my life and will transform my life further. Whatever happens, I will always be grateful for this moment in time..

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