Dear All,
We wish to inform you that like the observation of Women’s Day previous year
this year also the Gujarat State AIDS Control Society is observing “Tejaswini Saptah”(Week of Empowered Women and Girls)from 8th to 15th March with a prime focus on generation of awareness and increasing demand for services amongst girls and women.
The activities,inter alia, include promotion of voluntary blood donation amongst women to ensure availabilty of safe blood through increased repeat voluntary bloood donation from womenfolk.We have more than 300 women blood donors who have donated for more than 25 times and include one centurian also.
Launch of mobile blood bank ,capacity building of blood donation camp organizers with involvement of social and cultural organizations have been chalked out from 8th to 15 besides activities in all districts in active collaboration with the network of PLHIV -the Gujarat State Network of People living with HIV/AIDS(GSNP+)
I would also like to share the messasge from Director,NIAID,NIH,USA who has Communicated that International Women’s Day will be observed there
as National Women and Girls HIV awareness Day .
We also need to facilitate such activities in our areas of work/respective geographical areas.
Best wishes,
Dr.Rajesh Gopal.
Subject: STATEMENT OF ANTHONY S. FAUCI, M.D., DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ON NATIONAL WOMEN AND GIRLS HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY, MARCH 10,2009
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
<http://www.niaid.nih.gov/>
CONTACT: Laura Sivitz, 301-402-1663, <e-mail: sivitzl@niaid.nih.gov>
STATEMENT OF ANTHONY S. FAUCI, M.D., DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ON NATIONAL WOMEN AND GIRLS HIV/AIDS
AWARENESS DAY, MARCH 10, 2009
The fourth annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
reminds us of the special risks that HIV/AIDS poses for women and girls.
In response to the unique issues they face, we renew our resolve to help
women and girls protect themselves from the virus and the disease.
Women and girls represent more than a quarter of all new HIV infections
in the United States. More than 278,000 women and adolescent girls in
this country are living with HIV;[1] nearly 94,000 American women and
girls with AIDS have died since the epidemic began.[2] Globally, half of
the estimated 33 million people living with HIV are female, but in
sub-Saharan Africa, women make up almost 60 percent of the HIV-infected
population.[3]
Here in the United States, minority women and girls bear a
disproportionately heavy burden of HIV/AIDS, accounting for 80 percent
of U.S. females living with the virus.[4] African-American women acquire
HIV at nearly 15 times the rate of white women.[5] Consequently,
although African-American women represent 13 percent of the female U.S.
population, they account for 65 percent of all American women infected
with HIV and 62 percent of all U.S. female AIDS cases.[6] Hispanic women
in this country also suffer disproportionately from HIV/AIDS, becoming
infected with HIV at nearly four times the rate of white women.[7]
It is critical that women and adolescent girls learn the HIV status of
their male sexual partners and regularly monitor their own infection
status. This is essential because 80 percent of new HIV infections in
American women and girls result from sex with an infected male
partner,[8] and one-fifth of all Americans living with HIV infection do
not know they are infected.[9] Early diagnosis of HIV allows for
counseling and prompt treatment. Potent HIV therapies prolong life and
reduce the risk of further HIV transmission by dramatically lowering the
amount of virus in the blood and other bodily fluids. Knowing one’s HIV
status also creates opportunities for women to make informed choices
about childbearing and to adjust their behavior to avoid infecting
others. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, strongly endorses
testing for HIV during the routine medical care of adults, adolescents
and pregnant women, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and the American College of Physicians recommend.
Women and girls often acquire HIV in situations where it is difficult or
impossible for them to refuse sex or negotiate condom use. For this
reason, NIAID places a priority on developing HIV prevention tools that
women can implement independently. One such method under study is a
microbicide-a gel, cream or foam intended to prevent the sexual
transmission of HIV when applied topically inside the vagina or rectum.
A recently completed NIAID clinical trial of a microbicide called PRO
2000 (http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2009/HPTN_035_gel.htm)
found the experimental product to be 30 percent effective. Although this
result fell just short of statistical significance, it was the first
indication that a microbicide might work in people. More definitive
results will come from a larger clinical trial of PRO 2000 being
conducted by the Medical Research Council and the Department for
International Development of the United Kingdom and scheduled to
conclude later this year. Meanwhile, NIAID will begin clinical tests of
a different microbicide, one that contains the antiretroviral drug
tenofovir. Many other NIAID studies of microbicides at earlier stages of
development also are under way.
Another mode of HIV prevention, one that women and girls at high risk
for HIV could implement independently, would involve taking
antiretroviral drug regimens to protect themselves from infection.
NIAID-sponsored studies are testing this experimental approach, known as
pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), with the first clinical results
expected this year.
In addition to studies of such HIV prevention tools, NIAID supports
research on HIV/AIDS treatment, complications and disease progression
among women and girls. For example, several NIAID-sponsored clinical
trials aim to optimize HIV/AIDS therapy for women who previously took
certain antiretroviral drug regimens to prevent passing the virus on to
their children during pregnancy or birth.
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day reminds us of the female
face of HIV/AIDS and its challenges. NIAID is committed to developing
HIV prevention tools that empower women and girls to protect themselves.
I encourage women and adolescent girls to embrace routine HIV testing,
to learn the HIV status of their sexual partners when possible, and to
employ “safe sex” practices
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001949.htm). The
abhorrent racial disparity among new HIV/AIDS cases in the United States
and the gender disparity of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa demand our
attention as national and global communities. By recognizing and
responding to the unique risks that HIV/AIDS poses for women, we will go
far toward curbing the epidemic.
Each year, the NIH Office of AIDS Research (http://www.oar.nih.gov/)
produces a Trans-NIH Plan for HIV-Related Research that identifies
strategic priorities for all areas of HIV/AIDS research. The plan is
developed in collaboration with experts from the NIH institutes and
centers, other government agencies, non-governmental organizations and
HIV/AIDS community representatives. The Fiscal Year 2010 Trans-NIH Plan
for HIV-Related Research
(http://www.oar.nih.gov/strategicplan/fy2010/index.asp) contains a
section on microbicides and a chapter specifically devoted to research
addressing HIV/AIDS in special populations, including women and girls.
Dr. Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda,
Maryland.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
<http://www.niaid.nih.gov/>
CONTACT: Laura Sivitz, 301-402-1663, <e-mail: sivitzl@niaid.nih.gov>
STATEMENT OF ANTHONY S. FAUCI, M.D., DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ON NATIONAL WOMEN AND GIRLS HIV/AIDS
AWARENESS DAY, MARCH 10, 2009
The fourth annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
reminds us of the special risks that HIV/AIDS poses for women and girls.
In response to the unique issues they face, we renew our resolve to help
women and girls protect themselves from the virus and the disease.
Women and girls represent more than a quarter of all new HIV infections
in the United States. More than 278,000 women and adolescent girls in
this country are living with HIV;[1] nearly 94,000 American women and
girls with AIDS have died since the epidemic began.[2] Globally, half of
the estimated 33 million people living with HIV are female, but in
sub-Saharan Africa, women make up almost 60 percent of the HIV-infected
population.[3]
Here in the United States, minority women and girls bear a
disproportionately heavy burden of HIV/AIDS, accounting for 80 percent
of U.S. females living with the virus.[4] African-American women acquire
HIV at nearly 15 times the rate of white women.[5] Consequently,
although African-American women represent 13 percent of the female U.S.
population, they account for 65 percent of all American women infected
with HIV and 62 percent of all U.S. female AIDS cases.[6] Hispanic women
in this country also suffer disproportionately from HIV/AIDS, becoming
infected with HIV at nearly four times the rate of white women.[7]
It is critical that women and adolescent girls learn the HIV status of
their male sexual partners and regularly monitor their own infection
status. This is essential because 80 percent of new HIV infections in
American women and girls result from sex with an infected male
partner,[8] and one-fifth of all Americans living with HIV infection do
not know they are infected.[9] Early diagnosis of HIV allows for
counseling and prompt treatment. Potent HIV therapies prolong life and
reduce the risk of further HIV transmission by dramatically lowering the
amount of virus in the blood and other bodily fluids. Knowing one’s HIV
status also creates opportunities for women to make informed choices
about childbearing and to adjust their behavior to avoid infecting
others. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, strongly endorses
testing for HIV during the routine medical care of adults, adolescents
and pregnant women, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and the American College of Physicians recommend.
Women and girls often acquire HIV in situations where it is difficult or
impossible for them to refuse sex or negotiate condom use. For this
reason, NIAID places a priority on developing HIV prevention tools that
women can implement independently. One such method under study is a
microbicide-a gel, cream or foam intended to prevent the sexual
transmission of HIV when applied topically inside the vagina or rectum.
A recently completed NIAID clinical trial of a microbicide called PRO
2000 (http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2009/HPTN_035_gel.htm)
found the experimental product to be 30 percent effective. Although this
result fell just short of statistical significance, it was the first
indication that a microbicide might work in people. More definitive
results will come from a larger clinical trial of PRO 2000 being
conducted by the Medical Research Council and the Department for
International Development of the United Kingdom and scheduled to
conclude later this year. Meanwhile, NIAID will begin clinical tests of
a different microbicide, one that contains the antiretroviral drug
tenofovir. Many other NIAID studies of microbicides at earlier stages of
development also are under way.
Another mode of HIV prevention, one that women and girls at high risk
for HIV could implement independently, would involve taking
antiretroviral drug regimens to protect themselves from infection.
NIAID-sponsored studies are testing this experimental approach, known as
pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), with the first clinical results
expected this year.
In addition to studies of such HIV prevention tools, NIAID supports
research on HIV/AIDS treatment, complications and disease progression
among women and girls. For example, several NIAID-sponsored clinical
trials aim to optimize HIV/AIDS therapy for women who previously took
certain antiretroviral drug regimens to prevent passing the virus on to
their children during pregnancy or birth.
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day reminds us of the female
face of HIV/AIDS and its challenges. NIAID is committed to developing
HIV prevention tools that empower women and girls to protect themselves.
I encourage women and adolescent girls to embrace routine HIV testing,
to learn the HIV status of their sexual partners when possible, and to
employ “safe sex” practices
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001949.htm). The
abhorrent racial disparity among new HIV/AIDS cases in the United States
and the gender disparity of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa demand our
attention as national and global communities. By recognizing and
responding to the unique risks that HIV/AIDS poses for women, we will go
far toward curbing the epidemic.
Each year, the NIH Office of AIDS Research (http://www.oar.nih.gov/)
produces a Trans-NIH Plan for HIV-Related Research that identifies
strategic priorities for all areas of HIV/AIDS research. The plan is
developed in collaboration with experts from the NIH institutes and
centers, other government agencies, non-governmental organizations and
HIV/AIDS community representatives. The Fiscal Year 2010 Trans-NIH Plan
for HIV-Related Research
(http://www.oar.nih.gov/strategicplan/fy2010/index.asp) contains a
section on microbicides and a chapter specifically devoted to research
addressing HIV/AIDS in special populations, including women and girls.
Dr. Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda,
Maryland.
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