Snapshots of the News
Despite Gains in Treatment for HIV/AIDS, Report Finds China's Youngest Falling Though Cracks
Despite the efforts China has made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the New-York based human rights organization Asia Catalyst released a report on Monday that thousands of HIV-positive Chinese children are not receiving the medications or care that they need, The National writes (Mooney, The National, 4/19). The report finds "gaps in the governmental treatment programme, poverty, the refusal or inability of some hospitals to offer treatment and local government inertia and even interference," according to The National (The National, 4/19).
SADC Countries Selectively Applying International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
Though Southern African Development Communities (SADC) countries have made great gains in helping to connect people with HIV/AIDS treatments and protect them from discrimination, most countries are "selectively applying international guidelines on HIV/AIDS and human rights," according to a recent report by AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), Health-e/AllAfrica.com reports (Langa, Health-e/AllAfrica.com, 4/17). For instance, while the SADC countries have started to adopt laws that protect the rights of people living with HIV, "the provisions don't extend to those who are vulnerable to HIV infection due to discrimination particularly women, migrants and people in same sex relationships," Health-e/AllAfrica.com reports (Health-e/AllAfrica.com, 4/17).
UNICEF Calls Upon Donors to Increase Funding to Help Support Somalia
Capital News on Friday examined UNICEF's recent request for donors to increase their support of Somalia. Capital News reports that since 2008, Somalia has seen a 77 percent increase in the population in need of humanitarian assistance. Numerous confounding factors such as conflict, deteriorating food security and a prolonged dry season has led to high rates of malnutrition and outbreaks of diarrhea. UNICEF representative to Somalia Christian Balslev-Olesen said, "Donor contributions to date in 2009 are not keeping pace with the scale of humanitarian needs that require us to scale up our interventions. So far we have been tapping into our internal loan mechanisms to keep our programmes going until June, however further delay in receipt of funds places extreme limitations on our ability to deliver services and reach new pockets of emergency needs" (Capital News, 4/17).
