“The ‘Getting to Zero’ theme has three main goals,” said Christina Herman of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate: “Zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths: The MPP is an effective and powerful strategy against all three. As investors in pharmaceutical companies who view access to medicines as a fundamental human right, we strongly encourage participation.”

Read the ICCR Press Release on the UNITAID Patent Pool…

The Secretary General of the United Nations has issued a brief statement on the occasion of World AIDS Day. (Download PDF)

Denouncing the high price that the Global Fund recipients are paying for this product, in some cases USD 10,000 per person per year, the Global Fund letter notes the importance of the Medicines Patent Pool, and its objective of reducing treatment costs by facilitating a more efficient and sustainable licensing of essential patented technologies and promoting generic competition in developing countries.

The letter concludes by urging other public institutions and pharmaceutical companies to “share without delay their patents on this and other antiretrovials with the Medicines Patent Pool, in order to facilitate access to these treatments at the lowest possible price for countries in need.”

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate have joined other faith-based shareholders in the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility in calling on pharmaceutical companies to participate fully in the newly formed UNITAID patent pool.

Read the letter…

Learn more about the UNITAID patent pool…

This July appointment to the UN in Vienna, coupled with that of Daniel LeBlanc at the UN in New York and the growing network of VIVAT Congregations with members in different countries, increases the opportunities for the “voices of the poor to be heard where decisions are taken affecting their lives” (CC.RR 9a) on the above issues as well as on the Millennium Development Goals. VIVAT has an International Executive Team working in New York and a regional office in Geneva.

The 18th international Aids conference in Vienna ended Friday with one strong message: Despite the financial crisis the fight against HIV/AIDS must not decrease.

The International AIDS Conference is the premier gathering for those working in the field of HIV, including policy makers, persons living with HIV and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic. It is an opportunity to assess the process, evaluate recent scientific developments and lessons learnt, and collectively chart a course forward against the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. Given the 2010 deadline for Universal Access set by world leaders, AIDS 2010 coincided with a major push for expanded access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. With a global economic crisis threatening to undermine public investments, the conference helped keep HIV on the front burner by demonstrating the importance of continued HIV investments to broaden health and development goals.

AIDS 2010 also gave an opportunity to highlight the critical connection between human rights and HIV; a dialogue begun in earnest in Mexico City in 2008.The selection of the AIDS 2010 host city was a reflection of the central role Vienna has played in bridging Eastern and Western Europe, and allowed for an examination of the epidemic’s impact in Eastern Europe.

New data, presented in Vienna shows that HIV therapy significantly reduces more than just the consequences or effects of the disease and mortality. For a well treated person, it is practically impossible for the virus to be passed on, as heterosexual infections are reduced by more than 90 percent. At the same time TB infection is reduced dramatically due to therapy.

Read our earlier post on this issue…

The Missionary Oblates JPIC offices will be represented by Fr Tomáš Vyhnálek OMI, the current JPIC coordinator for Europe who is based in Vienna. Fr. Tomáš interned with the JPIC office in Washington D.C. and VIVAT in New York.

Catholic Organizations have scheduled a pre-conference event which is being organized by the Catholic HIV/AIDS Network and Caritas International, with local hosting by Caritas Austria. The Catholic event will encourage networking on good practices in the field, shared prayer and reflection on the values and Catholic teaching that motivate the Catholic Church’s response to the HIV pandemic, and joint learning through workshops on topics of urgent concern. The importance of sharing best practices lies in the fact that while the Catholic Church and religious communities provide a significant part of the AIDS services offered, especially in developing countries, this contribution is often unrecognized at international conferences.

For more information see: http://www.aids2010.org/

The Board approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UNITAID and the Medicines Patent Pool Foundation (MPPF) on June 8. The MPPF will be established as an independent organization under Swiss Law. The 3 founders are Paulo Teixeira (Brazil), Charles Clift (UK) and Benard Pecoul (France).

Interested in learning more? Go to other posts on this website and the UNITAID website.

The report, No time to quit: HIV/AIDS Treatment Gap Widening in Africa looks at eight sub-Saharan countries. It shows how major international funding institutions such as the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), World Bank Treatment Acceleration Project , UNITAID, and donors to the Global Fund, decided to cap, reduce or withdraw their spending on HIV treatment over the past year and a half.

Donors are disengaging from the fight against HIV/AIDS leaving behind millions who are still in dire need of treatment in hard-hit Sub-Saharan African countries, warned Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Sub-Saharan Africa is home to two-thirds of all HIV positive people worldwide. In 2008, nearly three-quarters of all HIV/AIDS deaths worldwide occurred in this region and HIV prevalence rates in southern Africa countries have exceeded 20 percent.

The report says one of the largest HIV treatment funders, the U.S President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has effectively been flat-lined for 2009 and 2010 with similar proposals for the following years. MSF said PEPFAR aims to pass on the responsibility of direct funding treatment for patients to countries whenever possible. The MSF report also says that that other donors like UNITAID and the World Bank have also announced reductions in the coming years in funding for AIDS drugs in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Missionary Oblates JPIC office will continue to advocate by asking international donors not to walk away from their funding commitment and continue to call on the U.S. government to do its share. The backtracking comes despite international donors’ initial promises to fund all AIDS treatment programs. This situation will force many community health practitioners in Africa to have to tell patients receiving treatment that they would not continue their lifesaving treatment and may refuse to enroll new patients. This is a moral betrayal to millions of individuals and families affected by AIDS. Cutting funding will also affect achieving universal access to HIV and AIDS treatment by the end of 2010. Therefore it is important that international donors, especially those who will participate in the upcoming 2010 G8/20 Summit in Canada on June 25-27, make a new commitment and prioritize funding AIDS treatments in Sub Saharan Africa.

The ESTT Act requires gas, oil and mineral companies registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange to disclose payments to foreign governments for the commercial extraction of oil, natural gas and minerals.

The measure was introduced by Senators Dick Lugar (R-IN) and Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), along with co-sponsors Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI). This bill is currently in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committee.

Why is the bill necessary for people in developing nations and investors in developed nations?

There is a culture of revenue corruption, embezzlement and mismanagement in the oil and gas and mining industries. Oil supplied by developing countries, especially Africa and Latin America, to the United States is characterized by a lack of transparency, corruption and control by military regimes and political elites which have contributed to internal conflicts and high poverty rates.

The Missionary Oblates JPIC office welcome the introduction of the Energy Security through Transparency Act of 2009 (S.1700) as a vital step toward bringing transparency to the extractive industries sector in developing countries where secrecy in natural resource revenues weakens the fight against poverty and HIV/AIDS. This bill would help investors in developed nations such the U.S.-based Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), where Missionary Oblates are members to hold international oil and gas companies more accountable.

Which companies will be covered by the ESTT Act?

This ESTT Act would require country by country reporting of businesses engaged in extractive industries. The bill would cover both US and a majority of international extractive companies, including those based in Africa, Europe, China, Brazil, Australia and Asia that are listed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The ESTT Act is significant step towards transparency in extractives industries for developing nations because it will empower ordinary people and civil society organizations with access to basic information concerning extractive industry revenue. This is critical in order to hold governments and international companies accountable. The ESTT Act would also help identify companies that shift profits among their subsidiaries in order to avoid paying taxes in countries of operation, thereby denying developing countries needed revenue to combat poverty.

Congressional Hearings

A hearing, “Keeping Foreign Corruption out of the United States: Four Case Histories” was held in February by the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations (PSOI); which analyzed cases involving political officials and individuals from Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Nigeria, and Gabon. This hearing coincided with a 330-page report “Keeping Foreign Corruption out of the United States: Four Case Histories,” that detailed how officials in Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria funneled millions of dollars into the US with the help of facilitators. This enables corrupt officials to steal their countries’ wealth, denying their citizens vital resources that should be used for health care, education, and essential economic development.

Get Involved

The Energy Security through Transparency Act of 2009 (S.1700) has being reviewed by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. To make sure this bill (S.1700) remains a priority on the congressional agenda, you are invited to get involved by asking your Senator to co-sponsor the Energy Security through Transparency Act of 2009 (S.1700).

Bishop Duffy said the Western Province of Zambia still rates as the poorest in the whole country and that poor people are still waiting to see promises fulfilled. This was especially true regarding the Mongu-Kalabo road, which has been in a worsening state for several years. He went on to say that people keep hearing promises from government leaders, but are still waiting for action.

Government leaders in Zambia are angrily rebuking Bishop Duffy’s statements. A group affiliated with the ruling party is petitioning the Vatican’s representative. Western Province of Zambia ranks as the poorest province and suffers more from high poverty levels, low economic production and poor neglected infrastructure. In Western Province, the majority of children are unable to meet basic nutritional needs. Most women are highly disadvantaged and live in extreme poverty, vulnerable to HIV/AIDS as they are forced to engage in risky behaviors for economic survival. The Diocese of Mongu is involved in several development projects, runs HIV/AIDS programs and the only teacher’s training college in the region, supports the catholic radio station and operates hunger relief programs for the local people.

The Bishop’s statement has received support from all civil society groups in Zambia, development organizations like Caritas Mongu and from a local member of parliament who said that he totally agrees with Bishop Paul Duffy’s statement because the President of Zambia is the one who gave these promises to the people of Lukulu and that people voted for him on the basis that he was going to implement all those development programs.

In a show of solidarity, Zambia Oblate treasurer general Fr Godfrey Mpundu OMI described Bishop Duffy as a voice of the voiceless in Western Province. Fr. Mpundu suggested the ruling government leadership review its own record in Western Province over the last 25 years which coincides with the time that Bishop Duffy has been doing missionary work in the region.