Knowledge Centre : Pacific Focus : Health in the Pacific
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- HIV & AIDS in the Pacific@ (10) new
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- Fiji gay decision welcomed by NZAF
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The New Zealand AIDS Foundation is delighted at reports that the Fijiian High Commissioner has confirmed gay men will no longer be arrested for engaging in consensual sex in Fiji, saying that this is a great step forward for the human rights of gay citizens and tourists as well as HIV prevention efforts. (NZAF, Scoop, 11 July 2006)
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0607/S00091.htm
(Added: Fri Jul 14 2006 Hits: 214)
- Programme Experiences: Puppets for Health Education - South Pacific
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In 2003, Gary Friedman Productions launched a programme using puppetry to look at sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV/AIDS, and other sensitive health problems and to nurture understanding and acceptance of these messages within diverse populations in Fiji. The programme uses face-to-face encounters to provide existing and potential puppeteers with the necessary skills to empower community and peer-group educators to reach out to their communities with specific performances and workshops. The medium of puppetry reaches out across educational barriers and communicates to people using their own language and customs. (Communication Initiative)
http://www.comminit.com/experiences/pds22004/experiences-510.html
(Added: Mon Aug 21 2006 Hits: 222)
- Tahiti: Nuclear cover-up stokes tension with France
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Oscar Temaru, the pro-independence president of the Tahiti Nui (Temaru's preferred name for the French colony known as French Polynesia), dropped a political bombshell in the Pacific country's parliament on July 28. Temaru released a letter from a respected government health expert in Paris that officially confirmed for the first time what most Tahitians have long known and France has always denied: that French nuclear explosions in their territory have increased cancer rates throughout the Tahitian islands. The revelation has further strained tensions between the Temaru-led coalition government and Tahiti's colonial masters in Paris. (Norm Dixon, Green Left Weekly, Towards Freedom, 16 August 2006)
http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/872/
(Added: Fri Aug 18 2006 Hits: 240)
- Australasian Society for HIV Medicine
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ASHM is the Australasian organisation representing the medical and health sector in HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and related areas. ASHM's International Program is part of Australia's regional response to the HIV epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region. The Program provides training, placements, technical and policy advice, and clinical resources.
(Added: Thu Nov 15 2007 Hits: 75)
- Child sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation of children in the Pacific: A regional report
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This regional report is a synthesis of the findings of each country study - Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu - which were conducted between October 2004 and June 2005.2 The purpose of this synthesis report is not to single out any one group for ridicule but rather to break the long-running silence surrounding the incidence, extent and nature of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against children in the Pacific region and to prompt open, constructive community debate and new policies that aim to end the suffering of victims. (UNICEF, UNESCAP and ECPAT International, December 2006)
http://www.unicef.org/eapro/Pacific_CSEC_report.pdf
(Added: Wed Jan 10 2007 Hits: 349)
- Common Ground: visions shared
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These photos, taken in Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea, captured the links between population, the environment and development and also depicted the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). (Steven Nowakowski, Common Ground, September 2006)
http://www.commonground.org.au/VisionSharedPhotos.aspx
(Added: Thu Sep 07 2006 Hits: 177)
- Decades of Disparity III: ethnic and socio-economic inequalities in mortality, New Zealand 1981 - 1999 (PDF, 957 kB)
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Decades of Disparity III is the third (and last) in a series of monitoring reports which use census and mortality records to monitor trends in ethnic and socio-economic inequalities in mortality. It finds that socioeconomic status is reflected in mortality rate. Māori were disproportionately represented in lower socioeconomic strata however measured. Even within socioeconomic strata Māori/non-Māori inequalities in mortality largely persist. There was a widening inequalities in socioeconomic resources (especially position in the labour market) between Māori and non-Māori during the 1980s and 1990s. (Ministry of Health, May 2006)
http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/pagesmh/4702/$File/decades-of-disparity-III.pdf
(Added: Wed May 17 2006 Hits: 272)
- Environmental Indicators: South Pacific
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UNEP has published new Environmental Indicators Reports to assist countries of Asia-Pacific measure progress towards sustainable development goals. Published in simple, graphical form they allow policy makers to use benchmarks and assess trends in 30 different economic, social and environmental areas. (UNEP, 2006)
http://www.rrcap.unep.org/indicator/ISP.pdf
(Added: Mon Oct 16 2006 Modified: Fri Mar 28 2008 Hits: 277)
- Fiji Population and Family Planning
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Laws, Policies and Regulations
http://www.unescap.org/esid/psis/population/database/poplaws/law_fiji/fiji_title.htm
(Added: Thu Jan 04 2001 Modified: Thu Jun 29 2006 Hits: 317)
- Impacts of HIV/AIDS 2005-2025 in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor
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This paper describes the outcomes of a collaborative study of the epidemiological, social and economic risks and vulnerabilities related to HIV/AIDS in the sub-region incorporating Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor. (AusAid, September 2006)
http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pubout.cfm?Id=6912_3210_5427_6152_4107
(Added: Fri Oct 06 2006 Hits: 170)
- MP study tour explores reproductive health and poverty links
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This Press Release from MP Steve Chadwick announces the upcoming April visit of three New Zealand MPs to Papua New Guinea in April on a study tour focusing on poverty in the Pacific, and related issues including HIV/AIDS, gender inequality, maternal and child health, and the environment.
http://www.dev-zone.org/downloads/PNG.doc
(Added: Tue Mar 28 2006 Modified: Thu Jun 08 2006 Hits: 270)
- New WFP survey highlights health woes of Aceh schoolchildren
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Primary school children in Aceh and Nias suffer from insufficient nutrition, inadequate health care and poor hygiene, provoking widespread parasitic infections and resulting in stunted physical growth and retarded intellectual development. In Nias, 28 per cent of children are malnourished and 33 per cent micronutrient-deficient. (World Food Program, 5 September 2006)
http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2234
(Added: Mon Sep 11 2006 Hits: 156)
- Pacific culture and human rights: Why Pacific Island countries should ratify international human rights treaties [pdf]
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This discussion paper attempts to explore the reasons for the current low levels of ratification of international human rights treaties in Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and the added value for PICs to ratify them.(P Imrana Jalal, Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT/UNDP), April 2006)
http://www.rrrt.org/assets/Pacific%20Culture%20and%20Human%20Rights.pdf
(Added: Mon Apr 28 2008 Hits: 20)
- Pacific Islands police to receive AIDS training
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Suva, 13 September 2005 - Twenty one police chiefs from the Pacific joined forces with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today to tackle HIV and AIDS among its police forces by signing a Declaration of Partnership. The ceremony took place during the 34th Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police Conference in Fiji. The Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP), an organization of commissioners, directors and police chiefs of the national police, represents 75,000 police personnel from twenty-one nations across Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. "This initiative is a major step towards scaling up HIV prevention measures among police from the Pacific region working overseas. This will also ensure more protection for their families and communities," said Ulf Kristoffersson, Director of the UNAIDS Office on AIDS, Security and Humanitarian Response, during the official signing ceremony. The Pacific Island countries and territories are increasingly engaging in regional and international security-oriented initiatives, such as the Regional Assistance Mission, Solomon Islands. The Pacific region is one of the largest contributors of police personnel serving on UN peacekeeping operations. The initiative aims to provide training on HIV and AIDS for police from the Pacific region before they are deployed overseas.
http://data.unaids.org/Media/Press-Releases03/PR_PACIFIC_13Sept05_en.pdf
(Added: Wed Sep 14 2005 Modified: Thu Dec 07 2006 Hits: 194)
- Pacific Leaders Commit to Strengthening HIV Related Law
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The UNDP Pacific Centre, Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT) and UNAIDS, jointly organised and supported a Regional High Level Consultation on HIV and the Law, Ethics, and Human Rights in Auckland, New Zealand from 11 to 13 April 2007. UNDP, RRRT and UNAIDS commissioned the review of current legislation of 15 Pacific Island countries that were relevant to HIV issues, specifically in the areas of discrimination, ethics, access to treatment and privacy/confidentiality. The Pacific Island countries participating were: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. (UNDP/RRRT/UNAIDS)
(Added: Tue May 08 2007 Hits: 140)
- Pacific Regional HIV/AIDS Project (PRHP)
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The aim of PRHP is to help strengthen the capacity of Pacific Island governments, NGOs and communities to develop, implement and evaluate multi-sectoral responses to HIV/AIDS.
(Added: Mon Jun 26 2006 Hits: 177)
- Pacific Regional Strategy on HIV/AIDS (2004-2008)
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This strategy, developed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in response to the alarming rise of HIV/AIDS cases reported in the Pacific, provides a framework for national and regionally funded activities throughout the Pacific. It has three main purposes: to increase the capacity of the Pacific Island countries and territories to provide an effective and sustainable response to HIV/AIDS; to strengthen coordination, and mobilize resources and expertise; and to assist countries to achieve and report on their national and international targets for HIV/AIDS.
http://www.spc.int/hiv/images/stories/regionalstrategy%20-red.pdf
(Added: Mon Jun 26 2006 Modified: Fri Mar 28 2008 Hits: 166)
- Pain in paradise
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At least 65,000 Papua New Guineans are HIV-positive - the highest number of carriers in the Pacific, and the rate shows no signs of slowing; there were an estimated 16,000 carriers in 2003. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared it a generalised epidemic. Religious leaders who decry the use of condoms, despite many of their representatives' brave ministries on the ground, join an impressive line-up of barriers to dealing with the epidemic in Papua New Guinea. This article looks at efforts to combat the spread of AIDS in the island nation. (Sarah Barnett, Listener, 20 May 2006)
http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3445/features/6128/pain_in_paradise.html
(Added: Tue May 16 2006 Hits: 212)
- Papua New Guinea's sex disease time bomb ticks away
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In this article the journalist visits the under resourced and overcrowded Port Moresby General Hospital. Since mid-2001, Aids has been the single most common cause of death at this hospital, a fact usually kept secret from the patients' relatives because of the associated stigma. The future's worst-case scenario is that more than half a million people will be HIV positive by 2015 - with the impact on the country's development devastating. Who will be the teachers, the political leaders, the farmers? Who will care for the orphaned children? Papua New Guinea's particular disease is the gap between health policy and delivery and a shortage of people who know how to bridge it. The article looks at the role of donors, including New Zealand, the government, and the church, in dealing with the problems. Also see sidebars 'HIV a development issue for PNG citizens' and 'Where guns and rape rule'.(Julie Middleton, 15 May 2006)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10381782
(Added: Thu May 18 2006 Hits: 256)
- Rising workforce exodus threatens health systems
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Public health services in some Pacific countries risked being brought to their knees by the continuing exodus of health workers to wealthier nations. Thhe impact of the loss of workers was exacerbated by ageing populations, the growing burden of chronic diseases and new health threats from emerging diseases. If present trends continue, this worsening shortage will push health systems to the brink of collapse, particularly in poor countries where health needs are greatest. (World Health Organization, Scoop, 22 September 2006)
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0609/S00085.htm
(Added: Mon Oct 02 2006 Hits: 161)
- Scaling up HIV Testing and Counselling in Asia and the Pacific
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Report from the joint WHO/UNICEF/UNAIDS technical consultation on scaling up HIV testing and counselling in the Asia Pacific. The aim of the meeting was to discuss how to scale up HIV testing and counselling services, discuss core public health approaches, ethical principles and human rights values to guide the expansion of HIV testing and counselling, and identify and agree on key actions for follow-up at the regional and country level for policy and programme implementation (WHO, 2007).
(Added: Mon Nov 19 2007 Hits: 71)
- Second Generation Surveillance Surveys of HIV, STIs and risk behaviours in six Pacific Island countries (2004-2005)
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This 125 page report shows that rising numbers of sexually transmitted infections in Pacific Island countries threaten to spark the spread of HIV in the region. Surveys of HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and risky sexual behaviour conducted in six sentinel countries - Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu - indicate a ripe scenario for the spread of HIV in the Pacific. (SPC and WHO, June 2006)
http://www.spc.int/hiv/downloads/second-generation-surveillance-surveys/
(Added: Mon Jun 19 2006 Modified: Fri Mar 28 2008 Hits: 182)
- Signs of hope amid Papua New Guinea's need
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This article looks at the debate between churches in Papua New Guinea on how to handle the AIDS epidemic. It also profiles several Papua New Guineans that have received help from various NGO and NZAID schemes, including a microfinance project, a farm, and a project to improve the awareness and safety of Port Moresby sex workers, and 'sensitise' police to HIV and human rights issues. (Julie Middleton, New Zealand Herald, 6 May 2006)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10381939
(Added: Thu May 18 2006 Modified: Thu Aug 24 2006 Hits: 297)
- SPC HIV/AIDS and STIs Project
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The Secretariat of the Pacific Community has identified responding to the epidemic as a major strategic priority for the organisation, and sees itself as being centrally involved in the region's response. This website contains informationon their mission and activities as well as general information on HIV and other STIs in the Pacific region.
(Added: Mon Jun 26 2006 Modified: Fri Mar 28 2008 Hits: 179)
- Still Making Their Own Rules: Ongoing Impunity for Police Beatings, Rape, and Torture in Papua New Guinea
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Children and others in police custody in Papua New Guinea are often raped and tortured, despite recent juvenile justice reform efforts. Police routinely lock children up with adults, even when separate space is available, placing them at risk of rape and other forms of violence. Police rarely provide children with medical care, even when seriously injured. This 50-page report is a follow-up to Human Rights Watch's 2005 report on police violence against children. The report tracks developments in 2005 and 2006, and determines that abusive officials rarely face punishment. Police abuse - particularly the targeting of sex workers and boys and men perceived to be homosexual, as well as harassment of people carrying condoms - may worsen PNG's AIDS epidemic by undermining HIV prevention efforts. (Human Rights Watch, October 2006)
http://hrw.org/reports/2006/png1006/
(Added: Wed Nov 01 2006 Hits: 176)
