Live the Promise • HIV and AIDS CampaignBulletin no. 04 • September 2011 1

Getting to Zero : World AIDS Day 2011 The World AIDS Campaign has recently announced the theme for this year’s World AIDS Day: “Getting to Zero”. Backed by the United Nations, the “Getting to Zero” campaign runs until 2015 and focuses on zero new infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS related deaths. To read more about this year’s theme from the World AIDS Campaign visit www.worldaidscampaign.org/en/Getting-to-Zero-2011-World-AIDS-Day-Theme-Announced. World AIDS Day is observed each year on 1 December.

The Evangelical Church of Westphalia in Germany is preparing a liturgy for this year’s World AIDS Day on behalf of the EAA. Using the theme “Zero Discrimination,” this year’s liturgy will be available in English, German, Spanish and French from late October 2011. The liturgy, as well as other World AIDS Day resources for churches and faith-based organizations, will be available at www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/hivaids/world-aids-day.

The online EAA’s Live the Promise Advent Devotional Calendar, first shared in 2010 in English, will also be available this year in Spanish and French. The calendar will be available at http://adventcalendar.e-alliance.ch. People will also be able to sign up to receive daily devotions in their e-mail inboxes.

Plan Now to Attend the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington, DCThe XIX International AIDS Conference will be held in Washington, DC, USA from 22-27 July 2012. Conference registration, abstract submissions and accommodation bookings will open in December 2011. More information is available at www.aids2012.org.

“Taking Action for Health, Dignity and Justice: The Interfaith Pre-Conference on HIV and AIDS” will be held at Howard University in Washington, DC on 20-21 July. The pre-conference will begin with a networking reception the evening of 19 July, followed by a 2-day interfaith program and evening opportunities for faith-based participants to interact with other pre-conferences. More information on this event, as well as other opportunities for faith-based participants at the XIX International AIDS Conference, will be available later this year. To subscribe to a newly-formed listserv to stay updated on conference-related announcements send an e-mail to Becky Johnson at bjohnson@e-alliance.ch.

Calendar of Events19–21 OctoberEAA HIV and AIDS Strategy Group Meeting, Geneva, Switzerland

10–11 NovemberEAA Theology, Human Rights, & HIV Consultation

28–30 NovemberStrengthening Religious Leadership Multifaith Working Group Meeting and “Together We Must Do More” Religious Leaders Personal Commitment ReviewMeeting, Toronto, Canada

1 DecemberWorld AIDS Day

2–3 DecemberHIV and Aging Conference, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

13–15 DecemberUNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board Meeting, Geneva, Switzerland

15 DecemberGlobal Fund Round 11 Deadline for Proposals

20-21 July 2012Interfaith Pre-Conference on HIV and AIDS, Washington, DC, USA

22–27 July 2012XIX International AIDS Conference, Washington, DC, USA

EAA

Bulletin no. 04 • September 2011

2011 Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance is a broad international network of churches and Christian organizations cooperating in advocacy on food and HIV and AIDS. The Alliance is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

For more information, see www.e-alliance.ch.

This bulletin is located online www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/resources/bulletins.

Photographs in this bulletin do not neces-sarily represent the situations, opinions or beliefs of the persons depicted and in no way imply their HIV status.

The HIV and AIDS Campaign is based on the knowledge that all churches are living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. People who live with HIV and die from AIDS related illness are our friends and family, our teachers and neighbors, our pastors and priests. The pandemic continues to be measured in alarming statistics around the globe, and churches and people of faith everywhere must take up their pastoral and prophetic role to overcome stigma and discrimination, to care for body and spirit, and to advocate for universal treatment and effective forms of prevention.

150 route de FerneyP.O. Box 21001211 GenevaSwitzerland

Tel +41 22 791 6723Fax +41 22 710 2387info@e-alliance.chwww.e-alliance.ch

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Faith-Based Leaders Participate in ICAAP 10; Issue Declaration from Interfaith Pre-Conference and Statement on the ICAAP 10 MeetingFaith-based representatives from across Asia participated in the 10th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP), held 26-30 August 2011 in Busan, Republic of Korea. Prior to the main ICAAP meeting, an interfaith pre-conference was held bringing together over 50 faith-based representatives from throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

On the final day of the interfaith pre-conference, participants issued a declaration expressing “unconditional support and conviction in the belief that Faith must be made more visible and active in the response to HIV and AIDS and to reverse the effects of this global pandemic”. The full declaration, which includes the key outcomes from the pre-conference, may be found at www.inerela.org/english/events/icaap-10. A statement from faith-based participants attending the main ICAAP 10 meeting may be downloaded at www.inerela.org/english.

Medicines Patent Pool Aims to Improve Access to Affordable HIV MedicinesAlthough much progress has been made in increasing access to antiretro-viral treatment (ART), there is still much to be done. According to WHO, only one third of those in need of ART currently have access to it. This is especially the case for developing countries which represent more than 90% of the disease burden but less than 10% of the global antiretroviral (ARV) sales. Access to ARVs remains limited as affordable ARVs adapted to developing country conditions are not readily available. These include fixed dose combinations, paediatric and heat-stable drugs.

The Medicines Patent Pool, in existence since 2010, provides a mechanism whereby drug patent holders voluntarily release their patents to the pool, allowing generic manufacturers to obtain licenses to manufacture ARV drugs, after paying a royalty fee. Through generic competition, prices are pushed down and new drugs reach developing markets faster due to the absence of patent restrictions.

Recent events suggest that the objectives of the Medicines Patent Pool are gaining credibility and support. In July, Gilead Sciences signed a license agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool for five HIV products, the first pharmaceutical company to do so. A year after the signing of the license agreement with the US National Institutes of Health for darunavir, this second license agreement is significant in that Gilead Sciences is a major producer of ARVs. However, the agreement itself has been criticized as far from ideal due to restrictions placed on manufacturers, exclusion of middle-income countries with high HIV prevalence, and other issues. Two other pharmaceutical manufacturers, Bristol Myers Squibb and Boehringer Ingelheim, are currently in negotiations with the Pool. Additionally, in the past four months, the Medicines Patent Pool has received endorsements from the G8, in the WHO HIV strategy (2011-2015) as well as at the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS. For more information visit www.medicinespatentpool.org.

What actions have you been engaged in related to EAA’s “Live the Promise” Campaign?

We have been involved in a number of activities related to increasing access to medicines in developing countries. The bulk of our advocacy work has been around the Medicines Patent Pool, through individual as well as collaborative actions with the UK AIDS Consortium, of which Tearfund is a member. The recent focus of our work has been on putting pressure on Johnson & Johnson (J&J), particularly on its pharma-ceutical subsidiary Janssen-Cilag, to join the Medicines Patent Pool.

In early spring, the student contingent of UK AIDS Consortium held a bikini party in front of the company’s High Wycombe offices – a playful but effective way of presenting the invitation to enter into negotiations with the Pool. Following this event, key J&J repre-sentatives agreed to a meeting with UK AIDS Consortium which we attended, and were together able to communicate key arguments why J&J should join the pool. After this meeting, Peter Prove and I on behalf of the EAA followed up with a joint letter addressed to J&J’s president (William Weldon) to add further pressure.

In July, I participated in a meeting organized by the Medicines Patent Pool, UNITAID, WHO and Chatham House, in London. The meeting, which drew together pharmaceutical and generic companies, NGO representatives, journalists and activists, was geared towards identifying opportunities and challenges for innovation around ARVs – to meet developing country needs. It was a very good meeting as it allowed all stakeholders present to express their views and exchange ideas. Following this meeting, Gilead Sciences announced its

decision to enter into negotiations with the Pool.

Tearfund also presented the campaign at the UK Spring Harvest Festival, an annual festival that brings together churches, Christian organizations and thousands of participants. At the festival, 1367 people signed our peti-tion requesting J&J to join the Pool. We later sent these signatures along with a covering letter to J&J.

We have also collaborated in the UK AIDS Consortium advocacy activities around the EU-India Free Trade Agreement negotiations. This focused particularly on issues around data exclusivity that would jeopardize global access to essential medicines given India’s position as a major supplier of generic drugs to other developing countries. We invited the UK Governments Business Secretary, Vince Cable, to Tearfund and I questioned him on the UK government’s position on this issue.

What impact have these actions had?

Our advocacy work is ongoing and we plan to step up the pressure in October through a number of activities. However, preliminary responses to our letters and previous actions suggest that J&J may be moving closer to entering the Pool. J&J realizes it is account-able to the public and a refusal to enter the Pool won’t go unnoticed. It is important that pressure is maintained on J&J particularly in light of its promising new antiretroviral drugs. The Pool will be most effective when the major HIV drug manufacturers have all joined the Pool.

We also know that discussions we had with ViiV, the joint GlaxoSmithKline-Pfizer company, contributed to the collective pressure influenc-ing their decision to enter into negotiations with the Pool.

In terms of the EU-India Free Trade Agreement we were delighted to hear over the summer that the data exclusivity clause has been dropped from the agreement – a major achievement indeed for all organizations that have helped to highlight this issue and bring pressure to bear on the EU. There are other challenges still to tackle in the agree-ment but we should certainly celebrate this achievement.

If others wanted to develop a similar action, what advice would you give them?

Using similar tactics, target the affiliate J&J Company in your country, with the aim of conveying the sentiment of a global, rather than country-specific, demand. One may also target Merck and Abbott Laboratories, which to date have not yet begun negotiations with the Pool.

Do all that is necessary, even through creative means described above, to obtain a face to face meeting with company representatives. Do also get your national government if they have not already to support the Pool. National governments can and do have influence over decisions that pharmaceutical companies make. The best way to influence your national government is as a group of NGOs.

Be deliberate in demonstrating depth and breadth of opinion. Collecting thousands of signatures or going into meetings as a group of NGOs or organizations in one country, portrays a more widespread sentiment.

Keep watch over any potentially detrimental free trade negotiations that your country may be involved in and speak out to relevant government ministers as appropriate.

Tearfund is a Christian international aid and development agency. Headquartered in the UK, it oper-ates in more than 50 countries in collaboration with over 300 church-related partner organizations. In addition to development programmes, Tearfund is also actively engaged in bringing relief responses to disaster situations as well as campaigning on several justice and other issues affecting the poor. These include HIV and AIDS, climate change, gender, livelihoods and food security. Tearfund’s David Deakin describes the organization’s involvement in promoting greater access to HIV medicines.

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PAUL JEFFREY / EAA

Member Spotlight

TEARFUND

New Resources and PublicationsSAVE Toolkit: A Practical Guide to the SAVE Prevention Methodology Recently launched by INERELA+, Christian Aid and Save the Children, the ‘SAVE Approach’ to HIV stands for safer prac-tices; access to treatment; voluntary, confidential and regular counseling and testing, and empowerment. It is envisioned that through this toolkit, religious leaders’ influence and com-passion can be harnessed to create healthy communities for people living with HIV as well as for the wider community. This toolkit aims to equip both religious leaders and other HIV practitioners with the tools and strategies necessary to drive this transformation.

The document also intends to stimulate the greater engage-ment of religious leaders of all faiths in responding positively to HIV in their own lives and the communities that they serve. The toolkit may be downloaded at www.e-alliance.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/docs/Temp/HIV_Resources/2011/SAVE_TOOLKIT_lo-res_.pdf.

HIV Prevention Transformed Written by Nancy S Padian et al. and published in the 15 July 2011 issue of The Lancet. In this article, the authors analyze trends in the rapidly changing landscape of HIV prevention, and chart a new path for HIV prevention research that focuses on the implementation of effective and efficient combination prevention strategies to turn the tide on the HIV pandemic. The article may be downloaded at: http://dgroups.org/?1cswrdwa/view.

Called to Care More and Better Food No. 9: Farming, Climate Change, Health and the AIDS EpidemicMore and Better Food is an essential guide to food security in the age of climate change and the HIV and AIDS epidemic. It presents basic information about food and health, man-aging soil and water, and improving productivity through organic farming methods which also help to address the challenges of climate change. It is particularly relevant to people living with HIV, for whom food security is just as important as medical care. This resource guide may be ordered for a nominal fee at www.talcuk.org or viewed at the Strategies for Hope website at www.stratshope.org

See past Action Alerts and Bulletins online at www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/news

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Global Fund Call for Proposals: New Resources Available to Assist Faith-Based Organizations to ApplyOn 15 August 2011 the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria launched its 11th call for proposals. The deadline for submission of proposals is 15 December 2011. Funding decisions will be made at a meeting of the Global Fund Board of Directors in May 2012. For more information on the application process and requirements visit www.theglobalfund.org/en/ application. Note that eligibility criteria have re-cently changed, and funding history has been added as a criterion. All information on eligibility requirements may also be found at the above web address. To read the EAA’s 18 August Action Alert for more information on Round 11 visit www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/news/single/article/2011/08/18/apply-now-for-global-fund-round-11-1.

A new resource guide, Faith-Based Organizations and the Global Fund: Working Together to Save Lives, is available at www.theglobalfight.org/view/resources/uploaded/FBOManual_vFINAL.pdf. This manual from Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria focuses on different types of engagement, illustrated through images and case studies, and aims to highlight the wide range of faith partners who work with the Global Fund, as well as the unique ways FBOs contribute to its life-saving work.

The Aidspan Guide to Round 11 Applications to the Global Fund – Volume 2: The Application Process and Proposal Forms explains the application process, describes what is new for Round 11, and provides guidance on how to fill out many of the questions on the Round 11 proposal forms. It also includes a number of extracts from propos-als that were approved for funding in past rounds. The guide is available at www.aidspan.org/documents/guides/aidspan-round-11-applying-guide-volume-2-A-en.pdf.

A new reference guide, developed by Health Systems 20/20, is now available to support applicants interested in using the Global Fund to support health systems strength-ening in Round 11. The guide is available in English at www.healthsystems2020.org/content/resource/ detail/2566, and will shortly be available in Spanish and French.

A document specifically on how to prepare tuberculosis proposals for Round 11 has been prepared by the World Health Organization. This document is available at www.who.int/tb/dots/guidance.pdf.