 |
 |
| Action: Protest US funding limitations |
2005-03-29 08:00:00 <SEX-WORK> |
|
 |
|
|
Action: Protest US funding limitations
NSWP
****
The US now requires that organizations who receive US government funding for HIV and anti-trafficking efforts implement policies against promoting legal acceptance of prostitution. Other forms of harm reduction, including needle exchange, are also coming under fire.
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance hosted a meeting March 7 and 8 to discuss these and other policies, such as the emphasis on abstinence in US funding requirements, in order to recommend appropriate prevention strategies to UNAIDS. A wide variety of organizations participated, including faith-based organizations, reproductive rights organizations, and organizations promoting new technologies such as vaccines and microbicides. The NSWP was represented by Melissa Ditmore.
The presentations from this meeting and other meeting-related documents are available at the following address:
http://www.aidsalliance.org/sw18122.asp.
Individuals and organizations can comment by email to members of the Programme Coordinating Board who attended this meeting and to UNAIDS until March 22. Please send a letter to the PCB NGO members and to UNAIDS! Below is a model letter to adapt or to send as is to:
Kim Nichols: kimn@africanservices.org or africanserve@att.net
Alena Peryshkina: alenajhu@yandex.ru or alena@infoshare.ru
Omololu Falobi: alutamaster@yahoo.co.uk or omololu@nigeria-aids.org
Anindya Chatterjee (UNAIDS): chatterjeea@unaids.org
We are writing to express our strong belief that UNAIDS must reject the US-required limitations on funding use. It is unthinkable that the nation with the highest HIV prevalence in the developed world should be able to dictate policies on HIV prevention. It is reprehensible that prevention of HIV would be limited to organizations who take a stance prohibiting prostitution, alienating some of the strongest groups working with sex workers. Sex workers are integral to effective prevention efforts with prostitutes, their clients, and their families. Additionally, US funding is not allowed to be used for needle exchange, which is proven to prevent HIV. This US policy is counter to all public health data.
Condoms are the only effective prevention technology available to sexually active people and must be emphasized in every HIV prevention effort. The US promotes a model based on abstinence, fidelity and lastly, condom use. However, in places where HIV prevalence is extremely high, fidelity is no preventive for HIV. Safe sex goes far beyond ABC and requires a comprehensive approach including full information about all ways to prevent HIV. For these reasons, it is imperative that UNAIDS reject the US funding restrictions.
Sincerely,
---------
Speak your world!
A posting from Sex-Work (sex-work@eforums.healthdev.org)
To submit a posting, send to sex-work@eforums.healthdev.org
For anonymous postings, add the word "anon" to the subject line
To join, send a blank message to join-sex-work@eforums.healthdev.org
To leave, send a blank email to leave-sex-work@eforums.healthdev.org
For details of how to access discussion archives: http://www.hdnet.org
You are currently subscribed to Sex-Work as: %%emailaddr%%
---------
Sex-Work is an international eForum to facilitate discussion around sex-work and HIV/AIDS.
Sex-Work is coordinated by the Health & Development Networks eForum Resource Team (HDN, www.hdnet.org) with the support of Development Cooperation Ireland (DCI, www.dci.gov.ie).
The views expressed in this forum do not necessarily reflect those of HDN or DCI.
Reproduction welcomed provided HDN is informed of usage and source is cited as follows: Sex-Work eForum 2004: sex-work@eforums.healthdev.org
|  |
|
|
|
|
