Will the HIV vaccine be accessible ?

[Guest guest]

Will the HIV vaccine be accessible to millions of poor, and women and

children in particular? - Mainstreaming Resource Unit, ActionAid Orissa

Echoing the views of former UNDP director Tony Klouda, the participants of a

State Level Workshop in Orissa on mainstreaming of HIV and AIDs agreed that even

if a bottle of pure drinking water were to work as a total vaccine against HIV,

it would still be unavailable to large numbers of poor and marginalised people

in India. The statement assumes significance in the wake of the recent

development of a partially effective vaccine against HIV.

Of late, ActionAid Orissa has been organising series of workshops to

press home the point that a medical solution to HIV is not enough;

addressing core development problems like poverty and gender inequality is of

paramount importance if the spread of the virus is to be halted and reversed.

For this to happen, all sectors including government departments, civil society

and the corporate sector need to come together and act on the problem in a

multi-pronged manner.

At the workshop, ActionAid Orissa argued that the rapid spread of HIV

could not be explained by 'high risk activities' alone; poor social and economic

conditions are often responsible for forcing people to live in 'high risk

environments' that add to their vulnerability. The poor and women in particular

usually have weak immune systems due to

malnourishment and are thus more vulnerable to the infection.

Lack of schooling often results in unemployment, forcing people to end

up in occupations that entail high risk transactions. Sex becomes a key

resource, especially for girls and women, thereby increasing their

vulnerability to unsafe sex. Men migrate for work, stay away from homes and

families, and end up with multiple partners.

Poverty, disempowerment, gender inequality, poor public services, and

finally weak health systems are thus much more responsible for making

people vulnerable to the infection and its subsequent impact, said the

resource persons at the workshop.

" The fact that large numbers still fall prey to 'perfectly curable'

diseases like hepatitis, malaria, and cholera proves beyond doubt that a medical

vaccine is no answer. Ensuring holistic development for all is the best vaccine

against HIV " , stated Niraj Mishra from Orissa AIDS Solidarity Forum.

" The larger question is how many women, and how many poor, can afford

the vaccination? Aren't there too many impediments like issues of

access, decision making, side effects, and finally cultural and

traditional barriers? " says Christy Abraham, who leads ActionAid's work on HIV

and AIDS in India.

" Further, when will the vaccine be available in the market and at what

cost? And will it, in a practical sense, be more effective than an easy tool

like condom? " adds Christy.

If everyone had equal access to opportunities and benefits, if everyone were

well nourished, and if good public services were available to all, then HIV

would not have spread to its current extent, nor would the impacts of AIDS be as

severe, claimed the delegates at the workshop.

The workshop, held during 18-22 August 2009, was organised by the

Mainstreaming Resource Unit (MRU) of ActionAid Orissa in collaboration

with the OSACS with an aim to develop a pool of resource persons who

would help government departments identify and initiate planned measures to

contain the virus.

The event witnessed the participation of doctors, social workers,

academicians, lawyers, Persons Living with HIV and senior responsibility holders

from various government departments. The workshop ended with the development of

a list of possible actions that could be taken up by the five departments of

Health, Labour, Law, Education and Women & Child Development.

September witnessed two more workshops in the districts of Balangir and Bhadrak

to advocate with the District Collectors and departmental heads to pay attention

to addressing the causes and effects of HIV. Four more workshops are in the

pipeline in the districts of Ganjam, Khurda, Angul and Balasore.

ActionAid Orissa has been commissioned by the NACO and the UNDP to work closely

with the Orissa State AIDS Control Society (OSACS) and advocate with key

government departments of Orissa to mainstream planned responses to HIV and AIDS

in the course of their usual work.

Santosh Padhy

Mainstreaming Resource Unit

Actionaid Orissa

e-mail: <santosh.padhy@...>