THE XV INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE 2004: "Access for All"

Subj: 13 JULY 2004: XV International AIDS Conference Daily Update
Date: 7/13/2004 9:41:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: "Kaisernetwork" <kaisernetwork [at] kaisernetwork.org>






TODAY’S NEWS FROM THE XV INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE
Provided by kaisernetwork.org, a free health policy information service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2004

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13 JULY 2004
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CONTENTS:
1. Daily Update
2. Sessions
3. Newsmaker Interviews
4. Bangkok Notebook
5. Press Briefing
6. News Headlines


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1. DAILY UPDATE, 13 July 2004
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13 July 2004, Bangkok
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1178

Access to AIDS medications continues to elude millions around the world. Delegates and speakers at the XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, called for broader accessibility to antiretroviral treatment. Jim Kim, who heads the World Health Organization project tasked with scaling up treatment, The 3 by 5 Initiative, expressed shame over the six million people who have died of AIDS since the Conference last met two years ago. “By these measures of human life, the ones that really matter, we have failed, and we have failed miserably to do enough in the precious time that has passed since Barcelona,” he said.

Protestors agreed, arguing the availability of cheap generic drugs would remove the biggest barrier to access. But first, advocates say, brand-name pharmaceutical companies must forgo their patents for certain drugs in developing countries. That will dry up innovation, argues Hank McKinnell, CEO of Pfizer. “People living with HIV are going to need a steady stream of new therapies as this virus mutates and currently available treatments fail patients. If ‘Access for All’ is all that we do in the first sense, access for those needing medicines today, then the theme of future IAS Conferences will surely be, ‘Why are treatments failing patients?’”

But maintaining research and development should not keep needed medications from people who cannot afford them, according to Walden Bello from the University of the Philippines. “R & D for HIV drugs and other essential medicines is no longer efficient within a corporate context. Big pharma is more interested in protecting its 20 percent margin, provided by monopolistic pricing based on patents, than in providing drugs to people with little purchasing power.”

Neither side denies there’s a need to provide these medications; they just disagree on the best way to get them to the millions of people who need them.


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2. SESSIONS
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The Global Fund: A Model for Financing?, 12 July 2004
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1222
This satellite session focuses on The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a multilateral financing institution created in 2001 to combat three of the world's most deadly diseases.

CNN vs. ABC, 12 July 2004
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1196
Steven Sinding, director general of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, and Edward Green, research scientist at Harvard School of Public Health and a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS, chaired a session discussing two HIV/AIDS prevention models known as "CNN" -- which promotes condoms, clean needles and negotiating skills -- and "ABC" -- which promotes abstinence, be faithful and condoms. Two youth speakers also presented. Although the session was meant to be a debate, the participants agreed that all of the prevention methods could be appropriate depending upon the population being targeted. However, the participants disagreed on how much emphasis should be placed on each prevention method. Following their presentations, the panel members answered questions from the audience.

Special "Meet the Leaders": Leadership Across Sectors I, 12 July 2004
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1195

*** The following sessions will be available later. Please check online. ***
Meet the Leaders: Showcasing Media Partnerships - The Global Media AIDS Initiative, 13 July 2004
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1203
The Kaiser Family Foundation and the BBC World Service Trust co-organized this session to highlight the work of the Global Media AIDS Initiative, an initiative of the UN, UNAIDS and the Kaiser Family Foundation under the auspices of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Plenary: Scaling Up Access to Treatment, 13 July 2004
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1200

Are Intellectual Property Rights a Barrier to Increased Access to ARVs?, 13 July 2004
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1202

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3. NEWSMAKER INTERVIEWS
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Suniti Solomon, M.D., director, YRG CARE (Y.R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education), 13 July 2004
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1175#solomon
Dr. Suniti Solomon of India was the first doctor to detect HIV in the Indian population. She continues to be a leading expert on the disease and spoke with Kaiser's Jackie Judd about the epidemic in her country.

Hank McKinnell, CEO, Pfizer, 13 July 2004
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1175#mckinnell
Larry Levitt speaks with Pfizer's Hank McKinnell about why he is in Bangkok and the role of drug companies in fighting the epidemic.


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4. BANGKOK NOTEBOOK
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Kaiser Family Foundation's Senior Visiting Fellow Jackie Judd reviews the day's news with Science reporter Jon Cohen, 13 July 2004
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1181
Science Magazine's Cohen talks to Judd about recent developments at the AIDS Conference, including a bold admission by a world health leader.

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5. PRESS BRIEFING
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*** The following briefing will be available later. Please check online. ***
Official Conference Press Briefing, 13 July 2004
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1201

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6. NEWS HEADLINES
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Costs To Provide Antiretroviral Drug Treatment in 2005 Will Top $12B, UNAIDS Report Says
San Francisco Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/07/13/MNG2B7KGJQ1.DTL

XV International AIDS Conference Participants Debate Prevention Strategies Involving Abstinence, Condoms
AP/Washington Times
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20040712-094622-5261r.htm

HIV/AIDS Fight Slowed Down By Duplicated Efforts, Conference Participants Say
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/13/international/asia/13aids.html

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Appeals To Country For Help in Fighting AIDS
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/aids/story/0,7369,1259101,00.html

Lack of Doctors, Health Workers in Developing Countries Hampers Fight Against AIDS, TREAT Asia Report Says
Reuters Health
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5647425§ion=news

Australia More Than Doubles Funding for HIV/AIDS in Asia-Pacific
The Sydney Morning Herald
http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/11/1089484229581.html?oneclick=true (registration required)

Most Global Fund Grant Programs Performing as Expected, Some Underperforming, Fund Report Says
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1258976,00.html

More Than 35M Working-Age Adults Living with HIV/AIDS, International Labor Organization Report Says
Voice of America
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=A5A874E1-ED77-47DA-8B61D9FAC9FF1190&title=ILO%20Says%20HIV%2DAIDS%20Takes%20Heavy%20Toll%20%20at%20%20Workplace&catOID=45C9C786-88AD-11D4-A57200A0CC5EE46C&categoryname=Health%20%26%20Medicine

HIV Prevention Programs Emphasizing 'Ethnic Pride, Communication Skills' Increase Condom Usage, Study Says
Newsday
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsteen113888258jul11,0,1711920.story

'Brain Drain' of African Health Workers Slowing Fight Against AIDS, Physicians for Human Rights Report Says
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/13/international/africa/13afri.html

Additional news coverage and a summary of editorials and opinion pieces on the Conference will be available in the Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, including summaries of all the news coverage from across the globe.
Available after noon ET, online at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/hiv .
Sign up for email at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/email .


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The Kaiser Daily Update, provided during the week of the XV International AIDS Conference, is a free service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The Daily Update will be produced July 12–16. For complete online coverage visit http://www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2004 .

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Additional coverage of the Conference is available through the following sources:

The official International AIDS Conference website http://www.aids2004.org

Medscape HIV/AIDS, from WebMD, is the official provider of online Conference coverage (HIV science and medicine) and continuing medical education (CME) activities. Medscape HIV/AIDS will provide daily news coverage; next-day expert critical reviews of key Conference data, discussion, and debate, authored by Medscape’s faculty of leading international HIV/AIDS clinicians and researchers; access to complete Conference abstracts and slides from selected presentations; and more. http://www.medscape.com/hiv-aidshome

Health & Development Networks (HDN) is providing independent on-site commentary and analysis through a team of 55 developing country-based Key Correspondents (KCs). KC coverage will be disseminated through the daily Conference newspaper (The Correspondent), the Conference website and HDN-managed eForums (e.g, Break-the-Silence, Intaids, AF-AIDS, SEA-AIDS, etc). KC articles range from critical analysis of Conference content to interviews with Conference delegates and speakers, as well as focused local perspectives. http://www.hdnet.org

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