http://elivelli.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/12434
Live and let live. Help us fight fear, shame, ignorance and injustice worldwide!
]]> Fri, 28 Nov 2003 20:55:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/12434 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/10737 JOHANNESBURG, 25 August 2003—South Africa’s Medicines Control Council (MCC) has given approval for the start of a Phase I human trial of a preventive AIDS vaccine candidate under study by an international research team sponsored by the nonprofit International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).

The vaccine candidate, named HIVA.MVA, was designed by the University of Nairobi in Kenya and University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Phase I human trials of the vaccine candidate already have been completed in Kenya and the UK and are underway in Uganda.

Scientists agree that a preventive vaccine is the best hope to end the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A preventive vaccine would be given to people who are uninfected with HIV, to stimulate their immune systems to prevent them from becoming infected or going on to develop AIDS.

http://www.mrc.ac.za/pressreleases/2003/26pres2003.htm
]]> Fri, 29 Aug 2003 18:44:00 EDT http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/10737 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9927 The four-day forum comes on the heels of President George Bush's tour of Aids-stricken African countries, where his pledges show that the political will and funding to fight the global scourge are at last being mustered.
Some 5 000 people, a third of them involved in fundamental research, are registered for the conference, an event that is held every two years and alternates with the International Aids Conference, staged in Barcelona a year ago.

Highlights include a speech by former South African president Nelson Mandela; the latest research on HIV drugs and fresh worries that the virus is becoming immune to them; an update on the search for a HIV-killing cream that can be used like a spermicide; and new studies on mother-to-child prevention and vaccine trials.

Researchers are eagerly awaiting the results from trials of a new class of so-called fusion inhibitors -- drugs which seek to prevent the Aids virus from attaching itself to an immune cell, the first step towards penetration and infection.

Early studies suggest that fusion inhibitors are especially powerful for individuals whose immune systems have been almost wrecked. They are the third and most promising generation of HIV drugs -- an evolution that began in 1987 with the introduction of AZT, initially licenced as a cancer drug and was followed in 1995 by the advent of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), the triple cocktail of anti-HIV drugs.

HAART slashes back viral levels to below detectable levels. But the virus then holes up in "reservoirs" in the body, believed to be the lymph glands, and then bounces back as soon as the patient stops taking the drugs. New research published last week suggests it does this trick by sending out a complex cascade of signalling molecules that opens up a "resting" T cell to a passing virus, thus reviving the cycle of infection and replication.

The blank spots in our knowledge, said Fauci, are agonisingly evident when it comes to vaccines.

Aidsvax, the only candidate to see through the three phases of trials -- it tried to prime antibodies to recognising the gp120 protein on the surface of the virus -- has been a sad failure. That has placed the emphasis on another path: encouraging defence by immune cells.

Mail Guardian - 11 July 2003
Richard Ingham



]]> Fri, 11 Jul 2003 11:08:00 EDT http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9927 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9569 Why Kids Care?

We are all born with the instinct for charity. It develops in children like any muscle - with exercise. Kids Care Clubs help kids stretch their charity muscles. By helping others kids learn how wonderful it is to be contributing members of their communities. Beyond citizenship, kids can learn so many life-lessons from charity: cooperation, tolerance, problem-solving, communication, self-awareness, confidence, respect for life and loyalty. And research has shown that children who practice community service are less likely to participate in risky behaviors like youth violence or drug and alcohol abuse.

START YOUR OWN KIDS CARE GROUP!! ...There isn't much to know about getting started, just find some kids who want to help and invite them to brainstorm projects
Go to www.kidscare.org/kidscare/startclb.shtml and find out just how easy it is!

]]> Sun, 22 Jun 2003 18:37:00 EDT http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9569 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9568
Since the late 1980s, CARE has fought against the spread of AIDS. From one project in 1987, the portfolio has grown to include 47 projects with HIV/AIDS components in 32 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. CARE's goal in responding to the AIDS pandemic is to empower local communities to protect themselves from HIV-infection and to mitigate the effect of the pandemic on community survival. Specific interventions are designed to address the varying needs of people at three different stages relative to HIV/AIDS -- those who are not infected with HIV, those who are HIV-positive and those who have AIDS. Because prevention is the most effective method of slowing the AIDS pandemic, CARE provides men and women with accurate information about transmission through community education programs and informal discussion groups, educational television and radio messages, and training community health promoters on preventing transmission.

HERE ARE SOME WAYS THAT YOU CAN HELP BY GETTING INVOLVED!!!
(www.careusa.org/getinvolved/index.asp)

At CARE, we believe that every person can make a difference, and together, we can change the world. Here are some of the ways you can take action with CARE:

Advocate with CARE:
By using your voice with the media and elected officials, you can help CARE raise awareness of important issues like reproductive health and HIV/AIDS.

Volunteer:
CARE Corps volunteers work alongside Peruvian families and CARE staff on projects that promote sustainable solutions to poverty.

Youth Activities:
CARE's youth programs offer high school students the opportunity to experience a foreign country and culture while learning about CARE's work to help communities overcome poverty.

CARE In Your Community:
Each of our 14 regional offices sponsors fund-raising events and plans community outreach projects to help poor communities solve their most threatening problems

]]> Sun, 22 Jun 2003 18:15:00 EDT http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9568 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9313 What if you could do something to help?

For many years, a culture of silence has surrounded the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Effective education and prevention campaigns have not been implemented to the extent required by the crisis. In too many African countries, teachers have been unable to break through the stigma associated with the disease. Now, more than ever, effective prevention programs are needed to help teachers in Africa understand how the HIV virus is transmitted, and how behavioral changes can reduce the growing rates of infection.

The AFT-Africa AIDS Campaign -- a multi-year, multi-country project -- provides African teachers with the resources and support they need to develop effective peer-education programs to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, along with counseling and care for those who are sick. Building on a long tradition of international professional and union collaboration, African teachers' unions and the AFT are acting as catalysts to create a self-sustaining network of trained HIV/AIDS peer-educators and counselors in African schools.

A Staggering Crisis: (South Africa)

- An average of 1,000 teachers a year are dying of AIDS
- 420,000 children have lost one or both parents to AIDS
- Half of today's 15-year-olds will die of AIDS in the
next 10 years.

In addition to developing teacher-training programs in Africa, the AFT-Africa AIDS Campaign is working to raise the funds needed to help our African teacher organizations expand their effective programs.

- Awareness-raising projects that can increase student
understanding of the AIDS epidemic.
- Classroom- or school-based activities that can increase
funding for the efforts in Africa.
- Links to organizations working on the AIDS crisis in
Africa.

What if We Could Do Something To Help?!?
...Well, you can help by purchasing the CAMPAIGN PIN - it really is pretty. :-) Take a look: www.aft.org/africa_aids/pins.html

Your contribution to the campaign will go directly for union initiatives to provide resources for HIV/AIDS education, teaching materials and supplies. The AFT, U.S. government agencies and private foundations are providing funding for other program expenses.

AFT's website is:
http://www.aft.org/africa_aids/overview.html


]]> Wed, 04 Jun 2003 17:53:00 EDT http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9313 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9312
The first case of AIDS in Canada was reported in 1982.

Up to June 30, 1998, 15,935 AIDS cases have been reported to the Laboratory Centre for Disease Control at Health Canada.

The total number of AIDS cases in Canada since the epidemic began is estimated at 20,000.

Although the number of AIDS cases in Canada is dropping, the number of reported HIV infections is again on the rise. To date, an estimated 54,000 Canadians have become infected with HIV. Every day, about a dozen more become infected.

From 1982 to 1990, the median age for testing positive dropped from 32 to 23. All statistics from Health Canada, Bureau of HIV-AIDS http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/aids.htm

For More Information:
1-800-563-CURE OR cure@canfar.com ]]> Wed, 04 Jun 2003 16:48:00 EDT http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9312 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9178
Check out www.globaltreatmentaccess.org - they have a wonderful website full of different campaigns being run worldwide.

For instance, there is one group trying to influence the "big dogs" of Coke to take a stand and help their HIV infected workers in Africa.
"Coca-Cola executives think providing only 1.5% of their workers in Africa with access to HIV/AIDS treatment and care is enough."

Join the campaign for access to HIV/AIDS treatment for workers families.

WHAT YOU CAN DO...
1) Write, Fax, and Call Coca-Cola today
Print out and send the community letter to Coke, or write your own letter to Coke's CEO Douglas Daft.

2)Contact Coca-Cola's Headquarters:
Phone: 404-676-4971
Fax: 404-515-2226
Mail: Mr. Douglas N. Daft
Chief Executive Officer
Coca-Cola Company
One Coca-Cola Plaza
Atlanta, GA 30313

Stay abreast of news and actions as part of this campaign, contact Health GAP to join the ACCESS ACTION NETWORK

CONTACT Health GAP
Sharonann Lynch
Health GAP
Phone: 212-674-9598
Email: salynch@healthgap.org



]]> Tue, 27 May 2003 14:18:00 EDT http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9178 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9177
]]> Tue, 27 May 2003 14:08:00 EDT http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/9177 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7262 Thu, 09 Jan 2003 13:09:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7262 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7261
Everyday reality is that mothers in Africa keep hoping. They continue to fight HIV/AIDS themselves, and devote themselves to caring for their sick children.

The Kidzpositive Family Fund is dedicated to improving the health of HIV-positive children in Southern Africa. Our goal is to generate funds for the grassroots support of mothers and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Our aim is to become a regional source of financial support for organisations providing care for significant numbers of affected families. The name of this Fund is inspired by the positive spirit and actions of these people.

Please see: www.kidzpositive.org where you can find out how YOU can help make a difference and also read incredible stories or strength and inspiration!
]]> Thu, 09 Jan 2003 13:04:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7261 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7243 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 12:28:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7243 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7242 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 12:24:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7242 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7241 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 12:22:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7241 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7240 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 12:21:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7240 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7239 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 11:59:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7239 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7238 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 11:57:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7238 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7237 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 11:55:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7237 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7236 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 11:54:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7236 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7235 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 11:52:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7235 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7234 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 11:50:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7234 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7233 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 11:49:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7233 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7232 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 11:48:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7232 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7230 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 03:42:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7230 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7229 Tue, 07 Jan 2003 03:39:00 EST http://elivelli.tigblog.org/post/7229 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889