Daily Headlines: April 18, 2011

* Peru: President Alan Garcia denied that he would grant disgraced and imprisoned ex-President Alberto Fujimori a pardon for human rights abuses.

* Mexico: The police chief of Tamaulipas was fired in the wake of at least 145 bodies found in mass graves.

* Haiti: For the second time this year U.S. immigration authorities deported a group of Haitians to the Caribbean country.

* Latin America: According to the U.N. only half of Latin America’s 600,000 people infected with AIDS receive medical treatment.

Image – Reuters (“Peru's Former President Alberto Fujimori listens to the judge during the reading of the sentence of his trial at the special police headquarters in Lima April 7, 2009.”)
Online Sources- Bloomberg, BBC News, HaitiLibre.com, Xinhua

World Watch: This land is whose land?

* Israel: The government of Israel defied calls by the White House to not expand the construction of new settlements in the West Bank.

* Europe: A series of German AIDS awareness ads featuring depictions of Hitler and Stalin have raised the ire of European AIDS groups.

* Africa: Several African countries have called for the removal of international sanctions against Zimbabwe and its controversial President Robert Mugabe.

* U.S.: How bad is the budget crisis in California? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger eliminated state funding for a program that paid for six domestic violence shelters.

Image- MSNBC
Online Sources- Al Jazeera English, MSNBC, BBC News, Guardian UK

Daily Headlines: August 25, 2009

* Latin America: Brazil and Bolivia confirmed their close economic ties as presidents of both nations cordially met in the province of Cochabamba.

* Chile: While tensions are still high between the Chilean government and the Mapuche, prosecutors are seeking ten years in jail for the policeman accused in the fatal shooting of an indigenous protestor last year.

* Guatemala: Activists have accused the Obama administration of preventing access to more affordable drugs in developing countries including Guatemala where supplies of AIDS drugs have diminished.

* Mexico: Students in the state of Chiapas will have to wait a little longer to return to school due to the swine flu.

Image- New York Times (“From left, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina and President Evo Morales of Bolivia at a meeting” in February 2008.)
Online Sources- Mercopress, LAHT, The Latin Americanist, Los Angeles Times, CNN

Today’s Video: Remembering Pedro

We hope you enjoyed our slate of fake posts in honor of April Fools Day. Now we want to change gears and discuss a very serious film airing tonight.

According to a press release we recently received:

MTV, mtvU, LOGO and MTV Tr3s, with subtitles in Spanish, will present the world television premiere of Pedro, a movie based on the remarkable life of The Real World’s Pedro Zamora, on Wednesday, April 1 at 8:00 PM ET/PT. BMP Films, in association with MTV, produced this biopic written by Academy Award-winner Dustin Lance Black (“Milk”).

In 1994, Zamora captured the hearts of millions as the first-ever openly gay, HIV-positive main character on TV—on MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco. Zamora’s time in the house on Lombard Street brought a face to the AIDS crisis. President Bill Clinton has long credited Zamora with personalizing and humanizing the epidemic, and he will introduce Pedro when it makes its world television premiere April 1st.

“To this day, Pedro Zamora remains an extraordinary example of what a huge impact one young person can make in our world,” President Clinton said. “I’m glad to have known him, and I’m grateful his life has been able to inspire and enrich so many others.”

Below is a brief clip from the film which is being shown as part of STD Awareness Month:
Embed code:

Real World Cast Make a Toast in MTV's New Movie, 'Pedro'
Uploaded by wiredset

Online Sources- Dailymotion.com

Today’s Video: The struggle against HIV

Today is the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, a date in which we reflect on the millions of people affected by the disease.

There is the worry among some experts that complacency and the global economic crisis will lead to less treatment and prevention of the disease. Such is a concern in the Americas, particularly in developing countries marked by high poverty and few social opportunities. The Latino population in the U.S. continues to be susceptible after one Californian researcher found that Latinos wait the longest to get medical attention after being diagnosed.

Yet as we mentioned earlier this morning, there are numerous organizations still going strong in order to create awareness and education of the problems of HIV/AIDS in the Americas.

The following video was co-produced by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and examines how Dominican sex workers struggle to survive in light of the heightened risk of contracting HIV:

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Reuters, Caribbean World News, Jamaica Gleaner, YouTube, Global Voices Online

Daily Headlines: November 21, 2008

* Cuba: A U.S. judge ordered the liberation of five Guantanamo detainees who were reportedly under illegally detention for over seven years.

* Chile: Health officials may need to use a police database to contact over 500 people who have AIDS but were not informed that they had the disease.

* U.S.: Someone was asleep at the post as it was discovered that a man with Alzheimer's disease wandered twice into Mexico before being discovered.

* Peru: Chinese president Hu Jintao continued his Latin American trip by signing a free trade deal with his Peruvian counterpart Alan Garcia.

Image- AFP (“A watch tower at the detention center, in Guantanamo.”)
Sources- Bloomberg, Houston Chronicle, New York Times, BBC News

Daily Headlines: October 30, 2008

* Venezuela: A jubilant Hugo Chavez looked on as Venezuela’s first telecom satellite was sent into space after being launched from China.

* Latin America: Major regional stock indexes posted modest gains during trading on Wednesday.

* Chile: The country’s health minister resigned after the government did not notify several people who had tested positive for HIV.

* Ecuador: Two Jesuit priests, including one from Ecuador, where found murdered in a Moscow apartment.

Image- Xinhua (“A Long March 3II rocket carrying a Venezuelan telecommunication satellite blasts off from the launch pad at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Oct. 30, 2008”.)
Sources- MarketWatch, BBC News, MSNBC, AP

Today’s Video: Ha ha ha! He’s dead!

Is there such a thing as bad satire? Are some topics a little too sensitive to make fun of? Can some humor go too far?

Take the following video from 1990s British TV show “TV Offal”; does it make you laugh, cringe, or (in my case) both?

(Video link, possibly NSFW):



Sources- Wikipedia, YouTube

Event: "HOPE: Living and Loving with HIV in Jamaica"

Poet Kwame Dawes will read from several works inspired by his trips to Jamaica. His poetry came about as a result of his work with the Pulitzer Center’s HOPE project which looks at the impact of HIV/AIDS in Jamaica.

When:
Monday, September 22,
6 to 8 pm

Where:
Busboys and Poets
2021 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-387-7638

Note: The event is free and open to the public.

The following video is based on the HOPE project and is a clip we featured last May:



Sources- The Latin Americanist, HOPE Project, Pulitzer Center, YouTube

Brazil opts for generic HIV meds

Brazilian health officials picked the generic form of a popular AIDS drug to be used in its public treatment program.

The patent request for a drug made by U.S. firm Gilead was rejected as government officials deemed it “lacked technological inventiveness.” The real culprit, however, may be cost; a WHO-approved generic drug from India costs $158 per person, roughly 9% as much as the $1,387 per person cost of the Gilead drug.

International medical group Doctors Without Borders praised Brazil’s decision and claimed that it will open the door for wider global access to AIDS drugs:

The decision now means that the medicine can be produced by Brazilian generic companies or imported from other generic sources from abroad. With around 31,000 people currently receiving the drug through Brazil's universal AIDS treatment programme, and an estimated 37,000 by the end of 2008, the consequences on the sustainability of Brazil's efforts to provide AIDS treatment for all will be considerable…

"This sets an important precedent for people living with HIV/AIDS in all developing countries whose lives depend on these treatments," said Leena Menghaney, MSF's Access Campaigner in India.

Brazil has previously opted for generic versions of other antiretroviral drugs and has also reached deals with foreign drug firms to provide their medicines at discounted prices.

Image- Pharmalot

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Doctors Without Borders, Reuters, News-Medical.net

Inaccurate Puerto Rico data in AIDS study

Latino health advocates have blasted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recent study on AIDS for excluding Puerto Ricans on the island as Hispanics. The CDC’s decision also leaves out Latinos living in overseas territories from being accurately counted. According to one source, the number of Latino AIDS cases jumps from 17.3% to 22% when island-based Puerto Ricans are counted.

The CDC’s inaccurate count of Latinos with AIDS in the U.S. has several serious consequences like affecting public finding in HIV/AIDS prevention. The lack of precise information in the AIDS report also creates confusion for a community where it can be difficult to have proper health care.

Unfortunately, it has been worrying to see the delays by the CDC in releasing a report showing a 40% increase in estimated AIDS cases in the U.S. These problems are shameful as the International AIDS conference continues in Mexico.

As the head of the Latino Commission on AIDS observed:

"The decision to exclude Puerto Ricans from the Hispanic incidence analysis is perplexing. The CDC made a positive step forward in its original decision to include Hispanics, but has subsequently taken two steps back by again excluding Puerto Ricans from the Hispanic incidence rates. We will never have accurate estimate of HIV incidence in the Hispanic community if this discrimination continues", said Dennis deLeon, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS.

Image- AFP (“Activists and delegates hold a protest against HIV policies of many governments.”)

Sources- El Diario La Prensa, International Herald Tribune, FOX Business, New York Times

Global AIDS conference opens in Mexico

The 17th International AIDS Conference commenced today in Mexico City with numerous appeals for increased efforts to combat the spread of HIV worldwide. A UNAIDS study released last week concluded that several gains were made in HIV prevention, yet U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon observed that ”we are still facing a huge shortfall in resources.” World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan warned that “we dare not let down our guard” and become complacent against the global AIDS pandemic.

The conference was preceded by a march yesterday where thousands of protestors called for better worldwide access to anti-retroviral drugs as well as less discrimination against those with AIDS. As this video notes, “cultural stigmas” serve as a massive barrier for those infected with the disease:

The conference will last six days and is expected to have over 20,000 attendees from around the world. This figure does not include certain groups who had their petitions to be at the forum rejected such as Mexican sex workers.

According to UNAIDS, 1.7 million people in Latin America are infected with AIDS and overall levels of HIV infections in the region have changed little in the past decade. In the Caribbean, AIDS is one of the main causes of death in adults between 15 and 44 years old.

Sources- AFP, BBC News, YouTube, The Latin Americanist, Reuters, Al Jazeera English

U.N.: 1.7 million LatAm AIDS cases

A UNAIDS report released today showed that AIDS fatalities decreased in 2007 as prevention programs have worked in some countries and more drugs have been distributed to keep HIV in check. UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot said that the report represents “the most positive” study on the pandemic by the agency as the number of AIDS deaths worldwide decreased for the second straight year.

Not all was good news in the UNAIDS report; despite praising prevention plans in countries like Chile and Brazil, Latin America had more HIV infections (1.7 million) than any other region except southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the study found that:

• 40% of those infected in Latin America come from Brazil
• Over half of Mexicans infected with HIV got it through unprotected male sex
• HIV is typically spread through some Central American countries via intercourse with sex workers
• An estimated two-thirds of AIDS cases in Uruguay came about from unprotected sex

Though the percentage of people worldwide with AIDS has been roughly the same since 2000, Piot warned that “short-term gains should serve as a platform for reinvigorating combination HIV prevention and treatment efforts and not spur complacency.”

The report was publicized in anticipation of the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City which starts next Monday.

Image- Guardian UK (“Drugs to suppress the HIV virus and prevent full-blown Aids have been rolled out in Africa and Asia and 3 million people are now surviving who would have died.”)

Sources (English)- AFP, Bloomberg, Monsters & Critics, Reuters UK, BBC News

Sources (Spanish)- La Nación

Today’s Video: The specter of AIDS in Jamaica

This Tuesday is a somber anniversary; twenty-five years ago, a French team of researchers published their findings of a “suspect virus” which would later be identified as AIDS. According to charity group AVERT, the stigma of AIDS persists in Latin America and the Caribbean with roughly 1.6 million people infected throughout the region.

The video clip below looks at the impact of HIV/AIDS in Jamaica. The video is based on a project form the Pulitzer Center which we mentioned last month.

Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube, AFP, AVERT

News briefs – Brazil

* Brazilian trade officials blasted a U.S.-European Union proposal on free trade as “biased and protectionist”.

* A study concluded that the life expectancy of Brazilians has steadily increased to 72.3 years in 2006.

* A new HIV/AIDS prevention campaign will start early next year consisting of placing condom dispensing machines in one hundred public schools.

* Much has been made of immigration into the U.S., but more Brazilians are making the trek back to their homelands according to this article.

* In the world of sport:

• Kaka won the Golden Ball award for being the best player in Europe in the world. (He plays for Italian club AC Milan).
• Brazil won their won their second consecutive men’s volleyball World Cup.
• Popular Brazilian soccer club Corinthians were relegated from the first division on Sunday despite having been champions two years ago.

Sources- telegraph.co.uk, Xinhua, Reuters UK, International Herald Tribune, AHN

Image- Orlando Weekly

Haitians disappointed over AIDS study

In October a report was released alleging that AIDS had been spread via Haiti in the late 1960s and not from a gay Canadian flight attendant in the early 1980s. According to one researcher Haiti served as a “stepping stone” for the spread of AIDS into the U.S. and subsequently “moved explosively around the world.”

The Haitian community has not taken the study lightly and the country’s government has even established a task force to look into the report. Haitian-American leaders have expressed their worry over Haitians being “scapegoated” over the study’s findings. Rapper Wyclef Jean even gave his two cents over the report which he was none too pleased about:

"World AIDS Day (December 1) is an opportunity to evoke the progress and challenges that Haiti must confront in order to fight this epidemic, but also the recent news that unjustly targeted our country and showed serious prejudice," he said in a statement released by his foundation, Yele Haiti.

So far the press has not reported a response by Worobey or by other authors of the report.

Sources- The Latin Americanist, The Telegraph, AFP, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Image- New Zealand Herald

World AIDS Day on Saturday

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day, which has been observed yearly on December 1^st since 1988. This year’s theme concentrates on leadership and how leaders globally must step up to combat the spread of HIV and AIDS. As Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu remarked:

“This is not the time for complacency nor apathy…It is the time for compassionate leadership.”

• Some Jamaican dancehall musicians promote the notion of safe sex despite songs with risqué lyrics. “Young people gravitate towards the dance and AIDS is more prevalent among that set, so we have to push (safe sex),” said singer Aidonia to the Jamaica Observer.
• Researchers at the University of Miami are examining a plant from the Amazon rainforest that had been used as a cure-all in several Andean countries against ailments like AIDS.
• The government of Uruguay will soon start an ad campaign aimed at women and young adults to promote safe sex and decrease the spread of AIDS.
• Human rights group Survival International released a report warning of an increase in HIV/AIDS among indigenous communities including the spread of gonorrhea and syphilis to women of Brazil’s Yanomani natives.
• Previous posts on this blog on AIDS in the Americas includes the theory that HIV was spread into the hemisphere via Haiti, Brazilian government efforts to distribute discounted antiretroviral drugs, and how migration into Mexico may be causing a spike in AIDS cases there.

Sources- AFP, The Latin Americanist, Times Online, Jamaica Observer, MiamiHerald.com, Xinhua, Wikipedia, UNAIDS, World AIDS Campaign

Image- earthtimes.org

Daily Headlines: November 23, 2007

* First it was Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Now it’s fellow Colombian Shakira who has caught the overly critical eye of Iran’s government.

* The U.S. will create a special program for Cubans trying to obtain visas to enter the U.S.

* Brazilian health programs may help “reverse” the AIDS epidemic there, according to government health officials.

* Follow-up: Remember Sayda Umanzor- the breastfeeding mother who was separated for three days from her child by U.S. immigration authorities? She was deported back to her native Honduras on Wednesday.

Sources- Sydney Morning Herald, The Latin Americanist, MiamiHerald.com, Reuters, New York Times

Image- MTV

Study: Haiti “stepping stone” for HIV into Americas

A study released today by U.S. researchers claims that the HIV virus spread from Africa to the Americas via Haiti in the 1960s.

For years scientists believed the claim made by journalist Randy Shilts in “And the Band Played On”. Shilts’ theory said that AIDS had been spread by a gay Canadian flight attendant who died in 1984. Yet the conclusions of the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences posits otherwise:

"Our results show that the strain of virus that spawned the U.S. AIDS epidemic probably arrived in or around 1969. That is earlier than a lot of people had imagined," said senior author Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona, Tuscon…

In fact "Haiti was the stepping stone the virus took when it left central Africa," said Worobey. "Once the virus got to the US then it just moved explosively around the world."

On a related note, pharmaceutical firm Merck has advised that the volunteers of an experimental AIDS vaccine get further tests since the vaccine may increase the risk of infection. Over 2000 people from several countries in the Americas including Haiti, Jamaica, and Brazil had volunteered for the trial in 2004.

Sources (English)- Reuters, The Telegraph, Wikipedia

Sources (Spanish)- El Tiempo

Image- the Money Times

Peru: Blood banks closed over HIV infections

All of Peru’s 240 blood banks have been closed in the wake of worries over HIV transmission in blood transfusions. Peruvian Minster of Health Carlos Vallejos urged people not to panic over reports that in less than six months four patients contracted HIV after getting blood transfusions in a Callao clinic.

Despite Vallejos’ assurances, BBC News noted that Peruvians are afraid of going to public hospitals over the HIV scare as well as the recent revelation that thirty people became infected with Hepatitis C after receiving dialysis treatment.

Furthermore, the poor state of blood banks is a problem not only in Peru:

“Jose Cruz, an adviser on blood and laboratory safety for the Washington-based Panamerican Health Organization, called Peru's blood banks "worrying."

He said Peru is the organization's list, along with Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico, of countries that fail to perform preliminary disease screening all blood collected in blood banks.

The organization's most recent figures show almost a quarter of the blood Peru's banks receive is not properly screened, Cruz said.”

Sources- AFP, Living in Peru, BBC News, MSNBC

Image- separationsnow.com