What's inside this issue

• Regional Guideline Addresses MSM Health Needs
  
• Clinical Guide for the Elimination of MTCT and Congenital Syphilis Launched
  
• Agencies Start Coordination to Provide Support for Round 10
  
• III Virtual Week "HIV and the Health Sector" Will Take Place in April
  
• National Antiretroviral Treatment Guidelines Available on the Web
  
• Assessment Identifies Post-Hurricane Needs in Haiti
  
• Guatemala and Paraguay Identify Challenges in the Health Sector Response to HIV
  
• Brazil Discusses Technical Cooperation in Drug Surveillance
  
• WHO HIV Drug Resistance Prevention and Assessment Strategy Reaches LAC
  
• CONCASIDA Examines Progress of the Elimination Initiative, ARV Treatment and Other Subjects
  
• Translatina Launched from Central America to Patagonia
  
• PAHO Seeks New Head of the Regional HIV/ITS Project
  
• List of HIV Frequently-Used Acronyms

Regional Guideline Addresses MSM Health Needs

For the first time, a regional guideline addresses the distinct needs of gay men and other MSM within the context of health promotion and health care delivery. The “Blueprint for the Provision of Comprehensive Care to Gay Men and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in Latin America and the Caribbean” was launched by PAHO in March, as a result of an extensive collaboration among civil society organizations, bilateral organizations and UN agencies which started with a regional consultation in Panama in 2009. The publication provides a framework for the provision of health services in facilities that specialize in the care of MSM as well as those that serve mixed populations. It also provides specific references to the unique needs of YMSM who, further to the stressors of being a sexual minority, face additional challenges due to their age. The tools presented in the guideline are intended primarily for health care settings, but can also be integrated with other services and outreach programs. The Spanish and Portuguese versions will be available soon.
More information:
Blueprint for the Provision of Comprehensive Care to Gay Men and Other Men Who Have sex with Men (MSM) in Latin America and the Caribbean

Clinical Guide for the Elimination of MTCT and Congenital Syphilis Launched

A clinical guide that provides guidance on the interventions for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis is now available. The publication is part of the Regional Initiative for the Elimination of Mother-to-child Transmission of HIV and Congenital Syphilis in Latin America and the Caribbean and is a tool for health workers and decision-makers in the field of public health. The interventions for the elimination of HIV and syphilis are directed towards the same population of women of childbearing age and to their partners, as well as to pregnant women. Consequently, both strategies can be integrated for the prevention of HIV and syphilis. Many activities of the Elimination initiative are possible due to the support of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID).
More information:
Clinical guidelines for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and of congenital syphilis (Spanish)
Elimination Initiative Website
Elimination Initiative on Facebook

Agencies Start Coordination to Provide Support for Round 10

With the Global Fund Round 10 call for proposals preliminarily scheduled for May 2010, PAHO, UNAIDS and other providers of technical cooperation started assessing the needs of the different countries of the region. The group aims to increase the coordination and harmonization of technical cooperation and support for the preparation of Global Fund proposals on HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. During the preparation of Round 9, the organizations held several meetings and virtual conferences, in addition to training workshops. Countries and networks interested in presenting proposals should contact the responsible officer at PAHO, UNAIDS or other participating organizations and inform them of technical cooperation needs, so that the resources can be made available in a coordinated and timely fashion.

III Virtual Week "HIV and the Health Sector" Will Take Place in April

With the objective of presenting innovative aspects of the health sector response to HIV, receiving observations, and answering questions from health workers, civil society representatives, cooperation partners, and other actors, PAHO is convening the III Virtual Week 2010: HIV and the health sector. The activity consists of daily presentations, followed by questions and comments, and will take place from 12 until 16 April 2010. Topics for the 3rd Virtual Week include treatment, HIV and infant feeding, evaluation of the health system response to HIV, prevention for adolescents and young adults, and the Regional Initiative for the Elimination of the Mother-to-child Transmission of HIV and Congenital Syphilis in Latin America and the Caribbean . The presentations are in Spanish but participants can pose questions in English or Portuguese.
More information:
III Virtual week: HIV and the Health Sector (Spanish)

National Antiretroviral Treatment Guidelines Available on the Web

PAHO is collecting the national guidelines and recommendations on antiretroviral therapy being used in countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and making them available on the web. Currently there are adult and (in some cases pediatric) treatment guidelines from 14 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean , eight of them updated in the last two years. More country guidelines will be added soon. To suggest a new guideline to this page, send a message to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
More information:
National antiretroviral treatment guidelines

Assessment Identifies Post-Hurricane Needs in Haiti

An interprogramatic team of PAHO professionals, including staff from HIV, disaster preparedness, family and community health and other areas, is helping the PAHO Haiti Office redefine the priorities to strengthen the health sector response to HIV in Haiti, following the earthquake that displaced over a million people in that country. Together with the Dominican Republic , Haiti accounts for 70% of the HIV cases in the Caribbean . The post-hurricane environment will very likely lead to increased vulnerabilities (particularly with the displaced population) and to increased HIVDR (due to new gaps in treatment and services). PAHO is working with other stakeholders to promote a coordinated response at three levels: a) short-term, humanitarian; b) interim action plan (12-18 months); and, c) National Development Plan (5-10 years). Short term actions include technical support to integrate HIV interventions in primary care response, mobile clinics and outreach for displaced populations.
More information:
PAHO’s response to the earthquake in Haiti

Guatemala and Paraguay Identify Challenges in the Health Sector Response to HIV

A set of recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the response of the health sector to the HIV epidemic are the result of an evaluation requested by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance of Guatemala and the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare of Paraguay. Both evaluations, coordinated by PAHO with the participation of several agencies and stakeholders, were made from the perspective of the system taking into account the variety of stakeholders and their responses. As a result, the recommendations go beyond exclusively programming and are directed to the strengthening of each pillar/function of the health system: leadership and governance, financing and assurance, organization and delivery of services, human resources, drugs and technology (that includes blood banks), information systems and surveillance. These evaluations are in addition to those already done in the Dominican Republic , Belize , and Trinidad and Tobago .
More information:
Evaluation for the strengthening of the response of the health system to HIV in Guatemala (Spanish)
Evaluation for the strengthening of the response of the Health system to HIV in Paraguay (Spanish)

Brazil Discusses Technical Cooperation in Drug Surveillance

A technical meeting to discuss proposals and actions for drug surveillance and cost-effectiveness modeling took place in Brazil in November 2009. Representatives of several research centers and universities in the country participated in the event organized by the national HIV program. The objectives of the meeting were to submit a proposal of a cost-effectiveness model, to define its integration with the information produced by research centers, to establish a working group and to define the process for the application of the system of drug surveillance to side effects of antiretrovirals.
More information:
PAHO technical cooperation Brazil in the area of Pharmacovigilance of Antiretrovirals (Portuguese)

WHO HIV Drug Resistance Prevention and Assessment Strategy Reaches LAC

PAHO is supporting the implementation of the WHO HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) prevention and assessment strategy in Latin America and the Caribbean , with the goal of maximizing long term effectiveness of ART and minimizing emergence and transmission of resistance. The strategy is based on the principles that strengthening program M&E, with focus on HIVDR-related factors and implementing population-based surveys to assess HIVDR emergence and transmission provides strategic information for evidence-based decision making for prevention of resistance.

As of December 2009 PAHO has been providing direct technical cooperation and training to 26 countries. National HIVDR working groups have been formed and are currently operating in 16 countries and 17 countries have been collecting Early Warning Indicators (EWI) - site based quality assurance indicators designed to assess the extent to which sites are functioning optimally to prevent resistance - from a representative selection of ART sites, or ad hoc pilot HIV clinics. Population-based surveys for the assessment of transmitted drug resistance using the WHO threshold survey methodology have been implemented in Mexico and Brazil , and feasibility assessments for implementation are ongoing in Central American countries and in Venezuela (focusing on MSM). Adaptations of the WHO protocol for monitoring of HIVDR prevention and related factors at sentinel ART sites have been developed in Haiti and Guyana . Four laboratories have been accredited to the Global WHO HIV Drug Resistance Laboratory Network, located in Ottawa ( Canada ), Atlanta (USA), Fort de France (Martinique) and Ponce ( Puerto Rico ). Further progress in the implementation of the WHO HIVDR strategy in region is expected in 2010.
More information:
PAHO/WHO HIVDR strategy
PAHO HIVDR site

CONCASIDA Examines Progress of the Elimination Initiative, ARV Treatment and Other Subjects

Managers of health services of Panama , Honduras , and El Salvador presented important progress that has been made in the production of baselines and operational plans for the Regional Initiative for the Elimination of Mother-to-child Transmission of HIV and Congenital Syphilis during one of the busiest satellite sessions at CONCASIDA, which was organized by PAHO and UNICEF. Other highlights of PAHO’s participation in the Central American Congress on STI/HIV/AIDS include a dialogue with civil society to define actions in order to sustain and expand treatment, which was organized by PAHO, REDLA+, and RedCA, and the advance of the study on violence against women and HIV in Central America, presented by Dr. María Dolores Pérez-Rosales in one of the plenary sessions. Dr. Gottfried Hirnschall, head of the HIV/STI project, participated in the opening ceremony of the meeting of people with HIV. PAHO also participated in the MCP and COMISCA meetings, as well as in several technical sessions and satellite meetings. It is worth noting that the official opening of CONCASIDA was marked by a historical address on human rights by President Oscar Arias.
More information:
Draft of minutes of the meeting with civil society on treatment (Spanish)
Information on the Elimination Initiative
Address of President Oscar Arias (Spanish)

Translatina Launched from Central America to Patagonia

After premieres in Peru , Chile , Brazil and in provinces of Argentina , the documentary Translatina was launched in Port Madryn, in the Argentine Patagonia, and in San José , Costa Rica , as part of CONCASIDA. In San José , the documentary, which was cosponsored by PAHO, UNAIDS, and UNDP, received a standing ovation from 300 attendees at the suggestion of a MSM activist. In Port Madryn the projection was the opening activity for a sensitization workshop for agents of the judicial branch, police, security forces, municipal personnel of various areas and provincial and national administrations. REDLACTRANS and other organizations of transgender women participated actively in both events. The next launches are scheduled for Argentina ( Santa Fe ), El Salvador ( San Salvador ), Panama ( Panama City ), the United States ( New York ), and Switzerland ( Geneva ).
More information:
Launch of Translatina in Patagonia (Spanish)
Translatina Preview on YouTube
Information on Translatina

PAHO Seeks New Head of the Regional HIV/ITS Project

With the forthcoming departure of Dr. Gottfried Hirnschall, head of the PAHO’s Regional HIV/ITS Project, PAHO issued a vacancy notice for the Senior Adviser of the HIV Project (at the Regional level, PAHO uses the term “Project” to describe a team of professionals working under specific areas of work). The ideal candidate should have extensive progressive expertise at a senior decision-making level in infectious disease control, and specialized knowledge of HIV and STI, particularly in managing complex health programs/health systems at both national and international levels. Dr. Hirnschall was appointed as Director of the WHO Department of HIV/AIDS in Geneva and will begin in his new function on May 1, 2010.
More information:
Senior Advisor, HIV/AIDS and STI vacancy notice

List of HIV Frequently-Used Acronyms

Had trouble to understand any of the acronyms in this newsletter? This PAHO list contains English and Spanish versions of 121 of the most frequently used acronyms related to HIV.
More information:
HIV acronyms most frequently used in LAC

This course is designed for nurses and counselors in health care settings and community settings who wish to increase their comfort in providing support for prevention and health promotion to persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHIV). This course is designed to be applicable for participants from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), health care, and community settings.
Click here to read the entire document as a webpage.

Provider Initiated HIV Testing and Counseling

This is a One day Training Programme.
- targeted to health care providers who are charged with the responsibility for establishing and implementing provider-initiated approach to HIV testing and counseling. This would include health care providers in the public, NGO and private sectors.  Priority health care delivery settings include STI clinics, ante-natal clinics, TB treatment facilities, secondary care, women’s health settings, and clinics with high HIV seroprevalence rates as well as private practitioners.

It is assumed that individuals participating in this training would have a good working knowledge of HIV/AIDS basic issues, knowledge of public health system in their country, and a role in the health care delivery system where they would likely be in a position to recommend HIV testing to patients they perceive as being at risk. Read more on this --

The Pan American Health Organization HIV Caribbean Office  (PHCO) recently conducted its first regional activity in St. Maarten.

PHCO organised the workshop in its role as executing agency for the European Union Project geared towards strengthening the integration of the British and Dutch Overseas Territories in the regional response to HIV/AIDS.

The theme of the workshop was "Strengthening the Capacity of the Dutch and British Overseas Countries and Territories to Reduce Stigma & Discrimation, enhance delivery of HIV Services, and strengthen participation of people living with HIV in the HIV response: A Community Consultation."

During the two-day meeting, members from the six Dutch territories working in the field of HIV/AIDS met to discuss the logistics of this project, and give their input. 

The objectives of the meeting were: to present the project to persons living with HIV (PLHIV) in the Dutch and British OCTs; formulate recommendations for meaningful and equitable participation of PLHIV in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the project, and to identify priority actions for strengthening of networking and human rights of PLHIV, reduction of stigma and discrimination, and expansion of access to HIV treatment, care and support services.

According to Suzette Moses-Burton, HIV/AIDS Programme Manager and EU Project Focal point for St. Maarten: A number of critical issues were discussed including the role of people living with HIV/AIDS in the national and response, particularly at policy and decision-making level, development of partnerships between the national programme and members of the community and defining the types of support and interventions needed by the plwha community.

The meeting concluded after two days of intense discussions and deliberations, on a broad range of topics related to the concerns of people living with HIV, with a set of very clear agreements among the participants and actions for next steps which included the establishment/strengthening of support groups on all the Dutch Caribbean territories as well the establishment of a Dutch Caribbean support network to increase communication and exchange ideas and developments within the PLHIV community of the territories.

CCNAPC strives to empower its members to build strong national, territorial and regional responses to HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region ... and regional responses to HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean region by reinforcing member leadership and building programme management capacity primarily through peer collaboration.