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Barriers to sustainable access of children and families to ART centres in rural India : a report on operations research conducted in Maharashtra and Manipur

INDIA HIV/AIDS ALLIANCE
December 2009

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This report identifies barriers that children and families face in accessing anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centres in rural India. The report also seeks to find solutions to these barriers based on an operations research conducted in Maharashtra Pradesh and Manipur. Operations research objectives: * To build an understanding among policy makers of the barriers faced by children and caregivers accessing ART services in rural communities. * To assess and highlight a basic minimum level of standards for ART centres in terms of adequacy, quality and timeliness of support needed. * To explore opportunities for linkages with state and district level departments and/or local self-governing institutions

Women, harm reduction, and HIV

PINKHAM, Sophie
MALINOWSKA-SEMPRUCH, Kasia
September 2007

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This report looks at factors that reduce women drug users’ access to health care including punitive policies, discrimination by police and health care providers, the intense social stigma attached to drug use by women, a preponderance of harm reduction and drug treatment programmes directed primarily toward men, an absence of sexual and reproductive health services for drug users, and poor access to effective outpatient drug treatment. Pregnant drug users are particularly vulnerable. In too many instances, they receive little or no accurate information about drug use during pregnancy or prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. In some countries pregnant drug users are rejected by health care providers, threatened with criminal penalties or loss of parental rights, or coerced into having an abortion or abandoning their newborns to the state. Poor access to medication-assisted treatment jeopardises the pregnancies of opiate-dependent drug users. It includes recommendations for consideration when designing services for women drug users and also examines issues around policies to protect women's health

Neglected diseases : a human rights analysis

HUNT, Paul
et al
2007

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This report introduces and explores some of the connections between neglected tropical diseases (those affecting people living in developing countries, particularly in rural areas) and human rights with a view to urging all parties concerned to work collaboratively in identifying the practical implications of applying human rights to the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, programmes and projects for neglected diseases

HIV and AIDS treatment education technical consultation report

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
March 2006

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This is a report on a technical consultation on treatment education held in Paris November 22-23, 2005, which aimed to assess the current state of HIV treatment literacy and community preparedness, identify needs and recommend strategies for the future. The effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and medical care relies on timely HIV testing and treatment adherence. Treatment education interventions addressing issues of stigma and complacency, have been shown to contribute to a wider uptake of testing services and to improve adherence to ART. The report calls for an integrated and synergetic collaboration between all stakeholders, including people with HIV, and for the adoption of a participatory, person-centred approach. It also acknowledges that while there is a wealth of initiatives aimed at improving community preparedness, there is also a need to scale up programmes that have shown to work. The report concludes with a number of key recommendations for future activities. Those include: providing support to partnership and inter-sectoral collaborations; integrating treatment education across HIV education programmes and health systems; differentiating and customising approaches according to settings and audiences; involving affected communities and individuals; monitoring and evaluating treatment education initiatives

Living on the outside : key findings and recommendations on the nature and impact of HIV/AIDS-related stigma

HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT NETWORKS (HDNET)
AIDS-CARE-WATCH CAMPAIGN
2006

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This publication presents an overview of discussions, evidence and proposals contributed to the Stigma-AIDS eForurm by both experts and people living with HIV and AIDS, and moderated by Health and Development Networks (HDNet). Three major areas are covered: HIV stigma and place, including the work place, health care services and religious settings; HIV stigma and people living with HIV/AIDS, addressing self-stigma and injection drug users; HIV stigma and society, with a focus on the role of the media. Each topic includes a brief commentary and sets out specific recommendations. It is aimed at individuals, organisations and policy makers willing to learn about practical approaches to reduce HIV/AIDS-related stigma

HIV/AIDS, stigma, denial, fear and discrimination: experiences and responses from African and Caribbean communities in Toronto

The African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario (ACCHO)
HIV Social, Behavioural and Epidemiological Studies Unit, University of Toronto
2006

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This is the report of a study which explores the experiences of HIV positive people from Africa and the Caribbean who are living in Toronto; and the experiences and perspectives of people from these communities at large, through interviews and focus groups. The study seeks to understand HIV-related stigma, discrimination, denial and fear, and how these impact on responses to HIV, including testing, treatment and support. Recommendations from participants include, the need for greater sensitivity and knowledge among health care providers, more ethnoculturally-appropriate services, education campaigns and community development measures. The report would be of interest to people living with HIV and AIDS, physicians, policy makers, service providers, family members, friends and the general public

Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)

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The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has since 1998 been campaigning for greater access to HIV treatment for all South Africans, by raising public awareness and understanding about issues surrounding the availability, affordability and use of HIV treatments. It campaigns for equitable access to affordable treatment for all people with HIV/AIDS and supports the prevention and elimination of all new HIV infections. It promotes and sponsors legislation to ensure equal access to social services for and equal treatment of all people with HIV/AIDS. It challenges by means of litigation, lobbying, advocacy and all forms of legitimate social mobilisation, against any barrier or obstacle, including unfair discrimination that limits access to treatment for HIV/AIDS in the private and public sector. It educates, promotes and develops an understanding and commitment within all communities of developments in HIV/AIDS treatment. It campaigns for access to affordable and quality health care for all people in South Africa. It trains and develops a representative and effective leadership of people living with HIV/AIDS on the basis of equality and non-discrimination irrespective of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, sex, socio-economic status, nationality, marital status or any other ground. It campaigns for an effective regional and global network comprising of organisations with similar aims and objectives

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