What's New

This book begins with four case studies that examine how policing practices directly impact the lives of people who use drugs. Though the settings differ, the themes are similar: an approach to drug use that is primarily the responsibility of law enforcement officials rather than health care personnel results in corruption, abuses, and reluctance on the part of drug users to access even the most basic disease prevention services.

This study sought to examine the effects of husband’s control and frequency of spousal discussion on domestic violence against Cambodian married women, using the 2005 Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey data. The sample included 1,707 married women, aged 16 – 49 (M=35.14). Structural Equation Modeling showed that husband’s control positively predicted both emotional and physical violence. Frequency of spousal discussion positively predicted emotional violence, an association consistent with the idea that a husband holding patriarchal beliefs would interpret women’s more frequent discussion as a violation of Cambodian norms for quiet, submissive wives.

This is a report on cumulative HIV and AIDS situation of Nepal, as of Aswin 2066 (17 Oct 09).

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are changing the ways women experience and confront violence. Despite this, there has been little attention paid to issues arising from the intersection of ICT and violence against women. The APC WNSP regards this intersection as a critical site of intervention both for women's rights activists and those working in the ICT development and policy arena. In this context, the APC WNSP commissioned the following overview paper as part of its 12-country project, "Strengthening women's organisations use of ICTs to end violence against women and girls" supported by the Dutch government's MDG3 Fund to promote gender equality and women's empowerment. This country report highlights forms of violence against women that have received recognition in Malaysia and provides the context of ICT development and national policy objectives.

The estimated HIV prevalence in Cambodia among adults aged 15–49 years declined from 2.0% in 1998 to 0.9% in 2006 (Ministry of Health Cambodia 2008). The number of people living with HIV ⁄ AIDS at the end of 2006 was a 61 400 (Ministry of Health Cambodia, NCHADS Surveillance Unit 2008; National AIDS Authority 2008). Since 2001, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have started pilot projects to deliver antiretroviral therapy (ART) and Cambodia has successfully applied for consecutive rounds of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). In the third quarter of 2007, more than 25,000 patients were receiving ART at 48 treatment sites, approaching 80% ART coverage (National AIDS Authority 2008). This document aims to evaluate a 5-year HIV care programme (2003–2007) in the Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

In 2009, the NACP selected Family Health International to provide technical assistance to NACP, PACPs and local organizations for strengthening HIV prevention interventions. One of the deliverables under the technical assistance is this Situation Assessment Report, documenting lessons learned in Pakistan and forming the basis of the design of other studies, strategies and interventions to be carried out under the Technical Assistance. The size of the FSW population and their high number of sexual partners suggests that the expansion of the HIV epidemic is likely to be strongly influenced by the extent of the epidemic among FSWs and their clients, even though current HIV prevalence among FSW is low. Several recent surveys have shown that although prevalence among FSW is low, their risk is high and the epidemic potential is considerable because condom use is low and sexual partnerships of FSWs with IDUs are reported by over 10% of the female sex worker population surveyed. Specific objectives of the assessment were to: ƒ

• Assess the structure of the sex trade, changes taking place and implications for reaching target groups ƒ Understand the legal and policy environment and its impact on the services for sex workers ƒ
• To assess knowledge, attitude and practice of female sex workers and sexual networking patterns ƒ
• To assess involvement of target population in the implementation of HIV prevention activities ƒ
• To explore opportunities and constraints for formation/operation of FSW self-help groups ƒ
• To assess the capacity of NGOs to deliver services for female sex workers ƒ
• To assess the roles and responsibilities of Provincial AIDS Control Programs

The goal of the regional training was to help countries implement effective national response through the creation of prioritized and evidence-based NSPs that are accompanied by necessary operational, human resource and management plans, which include estimation of costs and measurable targets for monitoring and evaluation.

Presentation Outline • AIDS in Asia • Funding for Prevention and Care • Vulnerability to the Crisis • Targeted Response is Key • ART Increases Program Costs • Response Publicly Financed • Summary

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence is relatively lower in Sri Lanka than in other Asian countries; however, the number of HIV-infected persons has rapidly increased in recent years. A baseline study on HIV, acquired immunodeficiency virus (AIDS), and sexually transmitted infections (STI) knowledge, attitude, and practice was conducted at two construction sites in Sri Lanka from January to February 2007 to design an effective intervention strategy for the construction workers. Among 611 respondents (mostly males, mean age 32.8 years), nearly two-thirds lived away from home. Knowledge was fairly good on AIDS prevention but poorer on STI than on HIV. Some misconceptions were also observed. A high percentage did not consider HIV/AIDS as their own personal issue, and over 50% respondents expressed discriminatory attitudes towards HIV positives. Condom access was limited due to social and cultural norms. Mobility was not significantly associated with practice of prevention of HIV and STI. 

A regional discussion on HIV transmission in intimate partner relationships was initiated by UNAIDS through a regional meeting on Women and HIV in Cambodia in July 2006. Subsequently, UNAIDS convened a satellite session at the 8th International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific at Colombo in August 2007, and some countries started to work on desk reviews. Following the recommendations of the Commission on AIDS in Asia (2008), the ASEAN Foundation, UNAIDS, UNIFEM and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) together initiated the development of the evidence base on HIV transmission in intimate partner relationships in Asia through collaboration between researchers, regional networks of people living with HIV (the International Commission on Women and the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS) and the United Nations (UN). In July 2008 a regional coordination committee consisting of UN (United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNDP, UNIFEM, UNAIDS), networks of people living with HIV and the ASEAN Foundation was formed to oversee the process. UNAIDS, UNIFEM and UNDP provided technical and budget assistance to countries to carry out desk reviews and focus group discussions. A technical meeting in November 2008 that included the Coalition of Asia Pacific Regional Networks on HIV/AIDS (the Seven Sisters) provided space to review data trends and gaps from the country studies, refine the methodologies and develop a regional network for information exchange.