Dangerous medicines: Unproven AIDS cures and counterfeit antiretroviral drugs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increasing access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a critical goal endorsed by the United Nations and all of its member states. At the same time, anecdotal accounts suggest that the promotion of unproven AIDS 'cures' and remedies are widespread, and in the case of The Gambia, Iran and South Africa, have been promoted by governments directly. Although a range of legislative and regulatory measures have been adopted by some governments, and technical assistance has been provided by international agencies to address counterfeit medicines generally, the threat of counterfeit antiretroviral drugs is not being addressed.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Countries, charged with fulfilling the right to health and committed to expanding access to ART must explicitly recognize their obligation to combat unproven AIDS treatments and ensure the availability of a safe and efficacious drugs supply. International donors must help support and coordinate these efforts.</p

Health and human rights of women imprisoned in Zambia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The healthcare needs and general experience of women in detention in sub-Saharan Africa are rarely studied and poorly understood.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A mixed-methods study was conducted including in-depth interviews with 38 adult female prisoners and 21 prison officers in four Zambian prisons to assess the health and human rights concerns of female detainees. Key informant interviews with 46 officials from government and non-governmental organizations and a legal and policy review were also conducted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Despite special protection under international and regional law, incarcerated women's health needs–including prenatal care, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and nutritional support during pregnancy and breastfeeding–are not being adequately met in Zambian prisons. Women are underserved by general healthcare programs including those offering tuberculosis and HIV testing, and reported physical and sexual abuse conducted by police and prison officers that could amount to torture under international law.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There is an urgent need for women's healthcare services to be expanded, and for general prison health campaigns, including HIV and tuberculosis testing and treatment, to ensure the inclusion of female inmates. Abuses against women in Zambian police and prison custody, which violate their rights and compromise their health, must be halted immediately.</p

Within but without: human rights and access to HIV prevention and treatment for internal migrants

Worldwide, far more people migrate within than across borders, and although internal migrants do not risk a loss of citizenship, they frequently confront significant social, financial and health consequences, as well as a loss of rights. The recent global financial crisis has exacerbated the vulnerability internal migrants face in realizing their rights to health care generally and to antiretroviral therapy in particular. For example, in countries such as China and Russia, internal migrants who lack official residence status are often ineligible to receive public health services and may be increasingly unable to afford private care. In India, internal migrants face substantial logistical, cultural and linguistic barriers to HIV prevention and care, and have difficulty accessing treatment when returning to poorly served rural areas. Resulting interruptions in HIV services may lead to a wide range of negative consequences, including: individual vulnerability to infection and risk of death; an undermining of state efforts to curb the HIV epidemic and provide universal access to treatment; and the emergence of drug-resistant disease strains. International human rights law guarantees individuals lawfully within a territory the right to free movement within the borders of that state. This guarantee, combined with the right to the highest attainable standard of health set out in international human rights treaties, and the fundamental principle of non-discrimination, creates a duty on states to provide a core minimum of health care services to internal migrants on a non-discriminatory basis. Targeted HIV prevention programs and the elimination of restrictive residence-based eligibility criteria for access to health services are necessary to ensure that internal migrants are able to realize their equal rights to HIV prevention and treatment

Fear of Foreigners: HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay, and residence

Among the earliest and the most enduring responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been the imposition by governments of entry, stay, and residence restrictions for non-nationals living with HIV and AIDS. Sixty-six of the 186 countries in the world for which data are available currently have some form of restriction in place. Although international human rights law allows for discrimination in the face of public health considerations, such discrimination must be the least intrusive measure required to effectively address the public health concern. HIV-related travel restrictions, by contrast, not only do not protect public health, but result in deleterious effects both at the societal level – negatively impacting HIV prevention and treatment efforts – and at the individual level, affecting, in particular, labor migrants, refugee candidates, students, and short-term travelers. Governments should repeal these laws and policies, and instead devote legislative attention and national resources to comprehensive HIV prevention, care, and treatment programmes serving citizens and non-citizens alike

Health and Human Rights Concerns of Drug Users in Detention in Guangxi Province, China

Based on their review of Chinese government legislation and policy documents, and using interviews with recently detained injection drug users and officials in Guangxi Province, Elizabeth Cohen and Joseph Amon find evidence of antinarcotics policies and practices that may compromise the health and human rights of drug users

Criminal Justice Reform as HIV and TB Prevention in African Prisons

Katherine Todrys and Joseph Amon argue for criminal justice system reforms in sub-Saharan Africa to reduce HIV and TB transmission in prisons and to guarantee detainees' human rights and health

Employing human rights frameworks to realize access to an HIV cure

IntroductionThe scale of the HIV pandemic – and the stigma, discrimination and violence that surrounded its sudden emergence – catalyzed a public health response that expanded human rights in principle and practice. In the absence of effective treatment, human rights activists initially sought to protect individuals at high risk of HIV infection. With advances in antiretroviral therapy, activists expanded their efforts under international law, advocating under the human right to health for individual access to treatment.DiscussionAs a clinical cure comes within reach, human rights obligations will continue to play a key role in political and programmatic decision-making. Building upon the evolving development and implementation of the human right to health in the global response to HIV, we outline a human rights research agenda to prepare for HIV cure access, investigating the role of human rights law in framing 1) resource allocation, 2) international obligations, 3) intellectual property and 4) freedom from coercion.ConclusionsThe right to health is widely recognized as central to governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental responses to the pandemic and critical both to addressing vulnerability to infection and to ensuring universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. While the advent of an HIV cure will raise new obligations for policymakers in implementing the right to health, the resolution of past debates surrounding HIV prevention and treatment may inform claims for universal access