Foundation Blog
News, commentary, and voices in the efforts to eliminate HIV and AIDS in children worldwide.
Posted by
Jen Pollakusky
Washington, D.C.
August 19, 2011
A mother in Uganda receives her
medications from a nurse.
(Photo: EGPAF/James Pursey)
In the wake of this year’s largest international AIDS conference, we’ve been reading several articles highlighting the need for better AIDS medicines for children. One headline in this week’s
The New England Journal of Medicine particularly caught our eye: “Pediatric HIV – A Neglected Disease?” Learn more about the unique challenges faced by children living with HIV and AIDS, including fewer options to treat the disease.
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Posted by
Jen Pollakusky
Washington, D.C.
July 12, 2011
A nurse in Malawi leads a support group
at an antenatal clinic. (Photo: James
Pursey/EGPAF)
Stopping the spread of pediatric HIV and AIDS starts with a pill, a doctor, and a hospital – or does it?
While medicines and medical services are vital to improving the health of children, women, and families living with HIV, the simple reality is that preventing and treating HIV and AIDS doesn’t begin or end at the clinic doors.
The fight against HIV also takes place in communities, where local attitudes and opinions may influence community action, and affect whether women and children have access to important HIV/AIDS services.
Click past the jump to read more about how the Foundation is reaching out to communities around Africa in the fight to eliminate pediatric AIDS.
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Posted by
Jen Pollakusky
Washington, D.C.
June 21, 2011
UNAIDS global action plan to eliminate
new HIV infection in infants.
(Photo: UNAIDS)
On the heels of the 30th anniversary of the first AIDS diagnosis, we’ve been reading about a new international call to eliminate HIV in one entire segment of the population: infants and young children.
A United Nations High-Level Meeting on AIDS produced a new global action plan to end all new HIV infections in infants by 2015. A number of Congressional champions issued statements addressing the importance of U.S. leadership in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and Voice of America and
The New York Times reported on both 30 years in the fight against AIDS and the new global plan. A busy week ended as the Foundation highlighted U.S. leadership on the issue with an ad in both
Roll Call and
Congressional Quarterly.
Click past the jump to read a more in-depth analysis of the week's events and coverage from Senior Public Policy and Advocacy Officer for Africa at the Foundation, Jen Pollakusky.
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Posted by
Jen Pollakusky
Washington, D.C.
June 13, 2011
Dr. Susan Strasser at the 2011 Yale
University School of Nursing
commencement ceremony.
(Photo: Yale University)
It’s not every day that you have an opportunity to inspire a group of talented young graduates to make a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Last week, Foundation Country Director for Zambia Dr. Susan Strasser did just that as she stood before the graduating class at her alma mater, Yale University’s School of Nursing, to deliver the 2011 commencement address, “Nursing at the Front Lines of the AIDS Pandemic.”
Click past the jump for a more detailed recap of her inspiring speech and for an interview with Dr. Strasser explaining how the Foundation is working to eliminate pediatric AIDS in Zambia.
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Posted by
Jen Pollakusky
Washington, D.C.
April 22, 2011
(Photo: EGPAF/Mia Collis)
This week, we were reading several articles about new research showing a troubling increase in drug resistance among children living with HIV and AIDS.
Articles from the British medical journal
The Lancet, MSN HealthDay News, MedPage Today, and
The Guardian all reported that within five years, many children in the study became resistant to AIDS drug regimens.
While drug resistance does occur in some people treated for HIV and AIDS, the study found the rate of resistance in children was more than double the rate of adults.
Click past the jump for a more in-depth analysis of the articles, with links to each.
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Posted by
Jen Pollakusky
Washington, D.C.
April 7, 2011
While the U.S. Congress continues to debate cuts to the federal budget and a possible government shutdown on Friday, global health programs could still be on the chopping block.
What often gets lost in the debate is that global health programs represent just a fraction of the 1% of the budget spent on foreign assistance each year. Saving millions of lives around the world is a lot of return on such a small investment.
Members of Congress from across the aisle – both conservative and liberal – have expressed great concern about threatened cuts to these programs.
Click past the jump to hear a sample of what they’ve been saying, in their own words.
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