Daily Headlines: December 2, 2013

* Latin America: According to the U.N., Latin America is the region that provides the highest proportion of AIDS treatment coverage though several countries have seen an increase in HIV infection in seniors over 60 years old.

* Mexico: A poll released days before the one year anniversary of the inauguration of President Enrique Peña Nieto found that his popularity has fallen and more Mexicans disapprove him than back him.

* Costa Rica: Costa Rica, which is a country labeled by the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation as a tax haven, signed a deal with the U.S. to comply with a new anti-tax evasion law starting next year.

* Honduras: Thousands of supporters of defeated opposition presidential candidate Xiomara Castro protested the results of the November 24th election that she claimed where "fraudulent."

Video Source - YouTube via Metro Guatemala (Dozens of Guatemalans held a vigil in order to commemorate World AIDS Day, which was observed on December 1st).

Online Sources - GlobalPost; Reuters; The Guardian

Today’s Video: Labor of Love

We hope to be back over the weekend with a few posts on topics that may include the latest honor to Chile’s rich literary tradition and an unusual “memorial” commemorating the late Argentine president Nestor Kirchner.

In Thursday’s World Watch we looked at several news stories on HIV/AIDS in order to observe World AIDS Day. The following video via The Pulitzer Center shows the work of Joel Sainton, a Haitian preacher who helps AIDS victims in his homeland. Sainton founded a grassroots agency for people with AIDS shortly after he found out that he was infected with the disease. His work has been valuable for the nearly 400 people helped by his agency including survivors of 2010’s major earthquake.

Video Source – YouTube via The Pulitzer Center

Online Sources – The Latin Americanist

World Watch: Commemorating World AIDS Day

* World: A United Nations report released on the eve of World AIDS Day concluded that the world is "finally in a position to end the epidemic" but more funding is needed from global donors.

* U.S.: The results of a new HIV treatment on lab mice could be key in developing a vaccine against the disease.

* South Africa: President Jacob Zuma launched a National Strategic Plan to promote AIDS prevention and slash the number of new HIV infections at least by half.

* China: According to the state press, about 780,000 people in China will be infected by AIDS by the end of 2011 including approximately 48,000 new cases in this year alone.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- Voice of America, CBS News, Reuters, NPR

Today’s Video: Prevention (revisited)

Yesterday on World AIDS Day we featured a video on the members of an El Salvadoran charity determined to prevent the spread of AIDS among the LGBT population. In Chile another form of prevention has taken place albeit in a ruthless manner. In the video report from Al Jazeera below, several HIV-positive women alleged that they were forcibly sterilized after giving birth. The women have taken their case to an Organization of American States-related judicial body, but it will be very difficult to erase the mental and physical scars these women have.

Online Source - The Latin Americanist
Video Source - YouTube

Today’s Video: Prevention

Today is World AIDS Day and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have certainly not been immune from the effects of the deadly pandemic. According to international AIDS charity Avert over two million people in the region are hit with HIV, "more than in the U.S., Canada, Japan and the UK combined." Furthermore, Avert's comprenhensive analysis of HIV/AIDS in LAC found that certain groups, such as sex workers and migrants are more susceptible to the disease than others.

Worse is that there may be a problem with funding to prevent AIDS as the former director of the U.N.'s AIDS program told Bloomberg. “There is clearly AIDS fatigue,” said Peter Piot who also noted that funding needs to be more selective:

“In Latin America, for example, most HIV-prevention programs are directed towards the general public, people who are not at high risk and there is not much going on in the gay community where the problem is,” said Piot. “That’s a waste of money then. My mother doesn’t need HIV prevention, she’s 87.”

Not all is doom and gloom regarding HIV/AIDS prevention in LAC. Take the case of Entre Amigos (Among Friends), a Salvadoran charity aimed at the country's LGBT community. Their work has been invaluable in trying to remove the stigmas related to HIV/AIDS as well as homosexuality:

Online Sources - Avert, Bloomberg
Video Source - YouTube

Today’s Video: World AIDS Day

Today is the annual observance of World AIDS Day; an occasion where we remember the 25 million people who have succumbed to HIV/AIDS since 1981 as well as examine effective methods of treatment and prevention. According to the U.N. there were 2 million AIDS-related deaths in 2008 and “social and economic inequality” has facilitated the spread of the disease throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

The video below is a 2008 news report from Al Jazeera English that looked at the discrimination faced by Mexicans with HIV/AIDS and the health care issues related to the illness.

Online Sources- Baltimore Sun, Reuters, LAHT, YouTube

Gay Argentine Couple Gets Marriage License

A gay couple received a marriage license in Buenos Aires today, becoming the first couple in the South American nation to take the legal steps toward full marriage. An Argentine judge ruled last week that a ban on gay marriage violates the Argentine constitution and the mayor of Buenos Aires said the city won't take steps to block the couple from wedding on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day.

After approving civil unions in some parts of the country as early as 2002, Argentina may now become the first country in Latin America to allow gay couples to marry. Lawmakers from the Argentine Congress are considering changes that would make gay marriage legal despite strong opposition from religious groups.

Although the developments in Argentina are not likely to start a wave of gay marriage recognition across Latin America, gay rights advocates may be advised to take their fight to San Jose, Montevideo and Quito, cities where the number of gay and gay-friendly establishments per capita is higher than in New York City.

In the same ranking of gay-friendly cities in the region, Port-au-Prince and Tegucigalpa ranked at the bottom of the list.

Image Source: AP
Online Sources: AP, Miami Herald, Foreign Policy

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

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