The Senate Finance Committee's chair, Max Baucus (D-Mont.), and top Republican, Charles Grassley (Iowa), are working with colleagues in the House on legislation that would lower tariffs in an effort to help Haiti's apparel industry and help the country recover from the major January earthquake, CQ Politics reports. "The bipartisan effort comes as Senate Finance leaders consider ramping up their work to broadly overhaul multiple U.S. trade preference programs, which lower or eliminate U.S. tariffs on a wide range of products from many developing countries," according to the publication (3/9).

British Government, HIV/AIDS Advocates Warn Decreased Aid Budgets Could Lead To Reversals In HIV/AIDS Treatment Progress

Recent gains in the global fight against HIV/AIDS could be reversed as the "global economic downturn pinches poor countries' budgets and donors show signs of backing away from their promise to provide universal access to AIDS treatment," the British government together with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned Tuesday, Reuters AlertNet reports.

Also In Global Health News: WFP In Somalia; Ugandans Displaced By Landslides; Polio Vaccination Campaign In Nigeria; Famine In Chad

WHO's Updated Malaria Guidelines Include Rapid Diagnosis, New ACT

The WHO on Tuesday released new guidelines for the treatment of malaria, which recommend "parasitological testing before treatment begins" and add "a new artemisinin based combination treatment [ACT] to the list of prescribed drugs," BMJ News reports. According to BMJ News, WHO's guidelines are "expected to enhance earlier and accurate diagnosis, halt the emergence of drug resistance, and reduce the use of unnecessary treatment" (Zarocostas, 3/9).

This site is a product of the African Broadcast Media Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (ABMP)—an historic pan-African coalition of broadcast companies for the purpose of reinvigorating and increasing the effectiveness of broadcast media’s contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Organized under the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI), the ABMP creates a structured framework for leveraging broadcast media resources with the goal of significantly expanding HIV/AIDS-related broadcast programming across Africa.

Under the Football for an HIV-Free Generation initiative, the ABMP is committed to developing and broadcasting HIV/AIDS-related programming in association with FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup broadcasts.

To see Partnership Description, click below:
English | French | Portuguese | View Member Companies

Women Arise. New Global Coalition Focused on Women, Girls and HIV Launches

Women leaders of diverse networks and organizations from every region of the world have announced at the United Nations the creation of a new global coalition called Women ARISE. The initiative was developed and is sponsored by 35 international women’s groups and regional and global networks, including those that advocate for the rights of and are run by HIV positive women, sex workers, and young people. Despite their different countries, languages, ages, and focus of work, they have joined together to counter the continued lack of action in five key areas that impact women and girls living with and affected by HIV. These are Access, Rights, Investment, Security, and Equity.

Women ARISE members are working together to galvanize and promote a common agenda on women and girls’ rights in the AIDS response. They are focusing on these five areas of action:

Access: to information, services, prevention, care, treatment, support
Rights: sexual and reproductive health and rights, property, inheritance, non-discrimination, equality, justice
Investment: budgets and funds for women and girls
Security: mental, physical, psychological, financial
Equity: education, empowerment, resources

To learn more, click here

New Radio Programming Guides for Radio Producers

A new HIV/AIDS programming guide for radio program producers is now available. Designed to provide ideas about longer form programs such as talk shows, documentaries, news and magazine programs that expand the key themes of the YOU campaign, the guide follows the unfolding saga of the mini radio drama series Can Tru Luv Withstand the Test? The series, now in its second year, follows the daily lives of a group of twenty-somethings as they navigate their way through the challenges of early adulthood. The current series focus specifically on themes of gender equity, stigma reduction, HIV-testing, and multiple concurrent partnerships.
To access the Programming Guide, click here
To hear episodes of Can Tru Luv Withstand the Test? click here