Health GAP in the Media
Selected 2018 Media
U.S. Abortion Politics Felt on a Global Level | Washington Post | October 11, 2018
What the UN's first TB declaration should have said | NGO Pulse | September 27, 2018
Historic UN TB declaration 'falls short' say activists | Health-E News | September 27, 2018
The 'end of AIDS' is not even nearly in sight, experts warn | Devex | July 20, 2018
Asia Russell, executive director of the Health Global Access Project, an HIV and AIDS advocacy organization, blamed international donors, whose funding has flatlined over the past seven years, for stalling progress.
"The global AIDS response is profoundly off track. This harsh reality is the consequence of major funders, in particular the U.S. government, refusing to invest in life-saving funding increases, exacerbating scandalous inequities in treatment and prevention access that are leaving millions of people waiting for life-saving services,” Russell said in a statement.
Tillerson’s Nairobi Visit Highlights Proposed Spending Cuts | New York Times | March 11, 2018
The State Department Should Stop Tweeting About International Women’s Day | Huffington Post | March 8, 2018
Trump’s global AIDS cuts has 200+ scientists ‘gravely concerned’ | Washington Blade | March 7, 2018
Letter speaks to evidence against White House policies, cuts and science stances | Science Speaks | February 28, 2018
An open letter seeking signatures from scientists and clinicians worldwide highlights directives, directions, policies, and proposed funding cuts from the Trump administration with impacts on evidence-based efforts to control and reverse the HIV pandemic.
The letter, circulated by Health GAP (Global Access Project), points to the administration’s reinstatement and expansion of the “Mexico City Policy,” that bars U.S. funding from any overseas program that provides any services or information to terminate pregnancies, or advocacy of safe abortion access, noting that it will affect the standard of health care and critical medical services for women both living with and at risk for HIV. It points to the administration’s proposal to radically cut funding to National Institutes of Health efforts to develop new needed medicines, diagnostics and prevention measures, and to build capacities to counter HIV in high-burden countries. And it points to the administration’s proposal to cut at $1.284 billion from global AIDS prevention and treatment programs, in the face of data showing that any hope of gaining control of the pandemic by 2030 demands greater investments now.
Donald Trump’s new budget will see over $1 billion slashed from HIV/AIDS programs | Gay Times Magazine | February 15, 2018
Asia Russell, the Executive Director of the Health Global Access Project, added that “if this budget passes as proposed, Donald Trump’s legacy will be millions of new and unnecessary infections and deaths – and a massive resurgence in the AIDS pandemic.”
Kenya: Millions of Kenyans Saved By U.S. Anti-Aids Initiative | AllAfrica | February 12, 2018
"This strategy makes the right moves in too few places, at the expense of saving lives everywhere else," added Asia Russell, director of the New York-based Health Global Access Project. She characterised PEPFAR's approach as "the kind of global Aids response policymakers craft when they have one hand tied behind their backs...An ambitious strategy wouldn't limit efforts toward epidemic control in just 13 of PEPFAR's more than 50 countries, but would aggressively map out a plan for ending Aids as an epidemic in all countries."
Selected 2017 Media
"Seven months after President Trump accused the pharmaceutical industry of 'getting away with murder,' he is busy lining the pockets of large pharmaceutical companies worldwide by giving them more power to charge higher prices overseas." –Brook Baker & Katrina Geddes
"The policy “risks undoing years of progress on women’s health in PEPFAR countries,” said Asia Russell, executive director of the Health Global Access Project, a public health group."
Selected 2016 Media
10 AIDS activists arrested in protest over Speaker Ryan | Washington Blade | December 1, 2016
The act of civil disobedience took place on World AIDS Day to draw attention to the impact Ryan’s proposed cuts would have on HIV/AIDS as well as the potential impact of the confirmation of Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) as secretary of health and human services.
Led by Matthew Kavanagh, senior policy analyst at Health GAP, HIV/AIDS activists sought a meeting with Ryan at his office in the Longworth House Office Building. After knocking on the door to Ryan’s office numerous times, two staffers came into the hallway to meet with the activists and Kavanagh, who said Ryan’s plans would harm the estimated 1.2 million people with HIV in the United States and stifle efforts to address the global epidemic.
Trump Leaves AIDS Advocates Feeling Anxious | The Bay Area Reporter | December 1, 2016
"George Bush got PEPFAR started and it's always been considered a bipartisan thing," said Hilary McQuie of Health GAP. "But Paul Ryan has proposed cutting billions from discretionary funds, and that covers global health funding. It seems very unlikely under Ryan's budgets that we'd get the $2 billion extra we need to ramp up the response to end AIDS by 2030."
10 Arrested At Paul Ryan's Office While Protesting Cuts To HIV/AIDs Programs | DCist | December 1, 2016
On World AIDS Day, 10 protesters were arrested this afternoon near House Speaker Paul Ryan's office as they protested funding cuts to programs related to HIV/AIDS, or what they called an 'AIDS nightmare budget'.
HIV Activists Arrested at Paul Ryan's Office, as Rally Lays Out Demands for President-Elect Trump and Republican-Controlled Congress | The Body | December 1, 2016
Before the action at Paul Ryan's office, AIDS activists gathered outside on the Capitol Hill lawn in a preemptive strike against potential health care budget cuts. Members from watchdog groups D.C. Fights Back, ACT UP Philadelphia, Health GAP, Vocal New York, Student Global AIDS Campaign, American Medical Student Association, Treatment Action Group and Universities Allied for Essential Medicine collaborated to deliver their message of grave concern over projected changes in government spending for domestic and global health and HIV care. An estimated 200 people attended the rally, seeking to send a robust, tri-fold message to President-elect Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress: Keep the Affordable Care Act (ACA) intact, stop drug companies from price gouging and strengthen Medicaid and Medicare.
The rally drew activists from New York and Philadelphia, who joined local activists from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
10 AIDS activists arrested outside Paul Ryan's office protesting health care cuts | Daily Kos | December 1, 2016
Led by Matthew Kavanagh, senior policy analyst at Health GAP, HIV/AIDS activists sought a meeting with Ryan at his office in the Longworth House Office Building. After knocking on the door to Ryan’s office numerous times, two staffers came into the hallway to meet with the activists and Kavanagh, who said Ryan’s plans would harm the estimated 1.2 million people with HIV in the United States and stifle efforts to address the global epidemic.
Trump has no plans for tackling HIV/AIDS — and his team has an abysmal track record | Vice News | December 1, 2016
"One of the most important things that happened with Medicaid expansion is that people were able to move off of ADAP and not just get HIV drugs but full [health] insurance," Matt Kavanaugh, an HIV/AIDS health policy activist with the Health Global Access Project, told PBS. "If that rolls back, it’s likely we will see huge problems with ADAP."
Another Day, Another Anti-LGBT Cabinet Pick | Washington Blade | November 29, 2016
Hilary McQuie, director of U.S. policy and grassroots mobilization for the HIV/AIDS group Health GAP, said the [Tom] Price nomination is "a worst case scenario for people living with HIV."
"In collusion with Paul Ryan, he will try to dismantle the safety net and healthcare system that has allowed us to build towards ending the epidemic," McQuie said. "We are going to have to mount a huge response to secure Medicaid, Medicare, HOPWA, ADAP, CDC and every other acronym that represents healthcare and social services for people in the U.S."
Anti-gay Atlanta lawmaker tapped for Trump Cabinet | Project Q Atlanta | November 29, 2016
Trump’s agenda has progressives worried about the possible rollback of health services for gay people.
"It’s an agenda that destroys the national health safety net," says Matt Kavanagh, a seasoned health policy activist with the Health Global Access Project, which campaigns for drug access for people with HIV across the globe. "We have a lot of people with HIV who depend on these programs."
LGBT Health Advocates Fear Backlash Under Trump | PBS News Hour | November 28, 2016
Uganda: NMS, Cipla Bickering Over Expensive HIV/AIDS Drugs | All Africa | October 25, 2016
"The key issue with Cipla supplying hepatitis B medicines is that these are the same medicines where we are not getting a competitive price," says Asia Russell, Executive Director of a Civil Society Organization - Health GAP (Global Access Project).
She blames Cipla's monopoly. "Uganda needs a sustainable supply of generic treatment, but the medicines must be competitively priced," she says.
She adds: "The demand of a national business for a subsidy is not on the same level as the need of people with HIV for access to life saving treatment. The government shouldn't pit the two demands against each other as if they were equivalent".
Global Fund sees new donors, persistent gaps | Devex | September 20, 2016
"There is increasingly an AIDS funding crisis in the world," Matthew Kavanagh, senior policy analyst at Health GAP — an organization of AIDS and human rights activists working to eliminate barriers to global access to life-sustaining medicines for people living with HIV/AIDS — told Devex. For example, the scale up of antiretroviral therapy, which is necessary to reach UNAIDS’ Fast-Track targets, won’t be able to continue at the same pace unless more funding is secured, he warned.
Free-Trade Deals Are Making It Much Harder to Fight AIDS | The Nation | September 19, 2016
Health GAP argues that the pledge is shaped by political calculations, not public-health priorities, as it "falls significantly short of what is needed from the United States to close the widening funding gap for the global AIDS response and capitulates to an irresponsibly low replenishment goal." The group projects that the new US pledge is the equivalent of an increase of "roughly $80 million per year at a time when $7 billion per year in additional funding is what UNAIDS estimates is needed to put the world on track toward ending the AIDS crisis."
UN panel urges wider access to medicines, but pharma slams the report | STAT News | September 14, 2016
Consumer and patient advocacy groups largely praised the UN report. Doctors Without Borders, for instance, called it a "landmark report." But some complained that the panel did not go far enough in some ways. Beyond encouraging governments to issue these licenses, Health GAP said the UN should have "condemned trade agreements and national laws" that do not make clear that countries have the right to issue a compulsory license.
UN High-Level Panel On Access To Medicines Issues “Landmark” Report | Intellectual Property Watch | September 14, 2016
Health GAP was a little more critical, stating: "Unfortunately, while the Panel’s report also recommends specific progress on transparency and more open access to the fruits of university and publicly supported research, the Panel was unable to reach consensus on bold recommendations concerning the limits of the WTO’s Agreement on TRIPS framework to protect access to medicines. Instead, the Panel opined that the right of access to medicines and other health technologies could be resolved within the existing framework of TRIPS flexibilities – a premise that we strongly reject."
AIDS funding is in crisis. Who will step up? | Devex | July 28, 2016
"We have what we need to ensure people are healthy," said Matthew Kavanagh, the senior policy analyst for the Health Global Access Project, a global advocacy organization. "It’s possible when it’s funded. But that’s not the track we’re on."
Malawi: decline in HIV/AIDS donor funding scares UNAIDS Director | All Africa | July 19, 2016
Executive Director of the Health Global Access Project with says pumping in 7 billion dollars every year could make the goal of reaching all people living with HIV more realistic.
Africa: global AIDS fight jeopardised by funding drought. All Africa. July 21, 2016 | http://bit.ly/2aKMJuq
The complicated math of AIDS. Voices of America. July 22, 2016 | http://bit.ly/29Zo0ye
AIDS response under threat as funds dwindle. Jamaica Observer. August 1, 2016 | http://bit.ly/2apLZes
13% decline in global HIV funds, NACO says all’s well. Times of India. July 20, 2016 | http://bit.ly/2arNuCw
Activists march on 21st AIDS conference in Durban. Berea Mail. July 18, 2016 | http://bit.ly/2a812sB
March to AIDS conference highlights that millions remain untreated | Times Live | July 18, 2016
Several thousand people marched through the centre of Durban today to the opening of the International Aids Conference at the International Convention Centre. The march‚ organised by the Treatment Action Campaign‚ SECTION27 and the US-based Health GAP‚ highlighted the need to get antiretroviral treatment to people with HIV across the world.
AIDS activists demand treatment for all. Jamaica Observer. July 18, 2016| http://bit.ly/29XEhoX
TAC stages protest at Durban AIDS Conference. ENCA. July 18, 2016 | http://bit.ly/29PMXgG
Alcom K. Progress towards 90-90-90 targets is promising, but funding is the critical step, says UNAIDS leader. NAM AIDS Map. July 18, 2016 | http://bit.ly/2a6BoS9
Global AIDS gains ‘inadequate and fragile’ UN chief says. Boston Globe. July 18, 2016 | http://bit.ly/29LTiad
The world spent $1 billion less on AIDS, jeopardizing decades of progress. Washington Post. July 25, 2016 | http://wapo.st/2an4j5a
March for increased AIDS funding. Health 24. July 19, 2016 | http://bit.ly/2a7X5UT
Optimism about ending AIDS misplaced, some experts say. The Stewardship Report. July 18, 2016 | http://bit.ly/29Sqhwd
Access to ARVs for all. News 24. July 19, 2016 | http://bit.ly/29JtHmK
Optimism about ending AIDS misplaced, some experts say. Voice of America. July 16, 2016 | http://bit.ly/29OQDQZ
AIDS 2016: March urging India to protect access to medicine. East Coast Radio. July 21, 2016 | http://bit.ly/29RPy7I
Funds for HIV too little, could be fuelling epidemic: Global experts. The Times of India. July 18, 2016 | http://bit.ly/29JqlA2
NGOs, civil society organisations throttled in India: international activists. The Times of India. July 22, 2016 | http://bit.ly/2axhjEO
UN chief says gains made against AIDS ‘inadequate and fragile’. CBS News. July 18, 2016 | http://cbsn.ws/29RFb2A
Don’t spend money looking for an HIV cure- help the infected live instead, says the AIDS affected. Scroll. July 22, 2016 | http://bit.ly/29Tfjnt
Dear Senator: Do you really want cancer drugs to be super-expensive? | Huffington Post | May 19, 2016
Uganda HIV tracking program touted, but some fear abuse | Anadolu Agency | May 2, 2016
Uganda's Only Cancer Treatment Machine Breaks, Patients Left Waiting | Reuters Africa | April 19, 2016
Obama Dreams of an AIDS-Free Generation | Foreign Policy | April 18, 2016
"The administration and Congress started talking about ending the epidemic and, in an environment of manufactured austerity, frankly didn’t have the bravery to find the additional resources," said Asia Russell, the executive director of Health GAP, an international health rights group. "AIDS wasn’t in recession."
Public Health Groups Call for Congress to Reject TPP | The Hill | April 12, 2016
Dear UNAIDS: Magical thinking on who will fund the AIDS response will not end the epidemic | The Body | April 5, 2016
The Global Fund has been backing away from efforts to promote generic competition | Global Fund Observer | April 5, 2016
The Next President Has a Narrow Window to End Global AIDS | Huffington Post | March 16, 2016
Trans-Pacific Partnership could Block Cheap, Life-Saving Generic Drugs | Vocativ | March 15, 2016
High-Level UN Initiative On Global Public Health Gap Holds Landmark Hearing | Intellectual Property Watch | March 11, 2016
Health Law Expert Rips into TPP | News Hub | March 10, 2016
Repressive NGO Act | Inter Press Service | March 9, 2016
Shortage of HIV Drugs Looms in Uganda Again | The East African | February 22, 2016
Selected 2015 Media
The East African, Dec 19, 2015. Uganda urgently needs $100m for ARV drugs
Reuters, Dec 16, 2015. Uganda facing HIV drugs shortage, govt seeks cash for imports.
The Guardian, Oct 30, 2015. Uganda's Supreme Court rules maternal health suit must be heard.
All Africa, Oct 29, 2015. Ugandan Activists want U.S. to Review Position on Pharmaceutical Patents
Fulton News, Oct 27, 2015. Ugandan health groups call for patent block on medicine.
The New Vision, Oct 27, 2015. Uganda petitions US on access to affordable medicines.
The New Vision, Oct 2015. Why is Obama opposing Uganda's access to generic medicines?
Science Insider, Oct 6, 2015. Trade agreement praised and panned.
Express Pharma, Jun 1-15, 2015. 'Special 301 report annual swat at India's IP policies'.
Express Pharma, May 12, 2015. 2015 USTR Special 301 Report: Reactions and the way forward.
Brooklyn Independent Media, May 14, 2015. NYS as a TPP free zone.
Daily Monitor, Apr 9, 2015. Govt tasked to explain medics export deal.
Bronxnet TV, Mar 5, 215, Fast Track Track Trade Negotiating Authority.
Mail and Guardian, Feb 27, 2015. No job but a real need for good medicis.
Medicalxpress, Feb 5, 2015. Uganda government under fire over health workers 'brain-drain.'
Pharmbiz, Jan 29, 2015. International health activists criticise president Obama's attempts to undermine India's IPR.
The Telegraph, Jan 28. 2015. Duality finger at US drug patent call.
OpedNews, Jan 26, 2015. Protests as Trans-pacific Partnership talks resume in New York.
The Council of Canadians, Jan 27, 2015. Council of Canadian endorses protest against TPP in NYC.
Deccan Chronicle, Jan 27. 2015. The patent puzzle.
The Asian Age, Jan 27, 2015. The patent puzzle.
The Times of India, Jan 25, 2015. World backs India against ‘bully’ US.
The Times of India, Jan 27, 2015. Promote Indian drugs, US health groups urge Obama.
The Lancet, Jan 20, 2015. Political factors behind US global AIDS programmes slow-down.
Selected 2014 Media
News 24, Nov 28, 2014. Uganda 'HIV nurse' to be released from jail.
Health GAP's Word AIDS Day 2014 press release on Obama administration's broken promises.
The Economist Times, Oct 8, 2014. Not to worry, PM Narendra Modi didn’t sell out on IPR.
Zeenews, Oct 2, 2014. Modi-Obama meet: US healthcare experts express concern over IP Working Group.
India Bharat Hindustan News, Nov 19, 2014. Modi Govt playing into hands of U.S. Drug companies?
Daily News, Nov 26, 2014. AFRICAN-AMERICAN and LATINO AIDS AWARENESS: Under-30 advocates honored.
Poz magazine, Dec, 2014. Celebrating youth power. Poz 100 features Amirah Sequiera, Michael Tikili, and Maureen Milanga for their game-changing work.
Deccan Chronicle, Nov 18, 2014. Made for Big Pharma.
Daily Maverick, Nov 17, 2014. Op-Ed Academics for TAC.
The Body, Nov 15th, 2014. Can we afford to cure HIV?
Reuters, Oct 16, 2014. Medicine prices at risk under Pacific trade draft-critics.
The Daily Dot, Oct 16,2014. The TPP may endanger world health, newly leaked chapter shows.
The Asian Age, Oct 14, 2014. Intellectually challenged.
The Times of India, Oct 3, 2014. Has PM Modi bowed to US pressure on patent laws?
Talk Radio News Service, Oct 1, 2014. Listen the world in 2:00.
Media Global News, Sept. 22, 2014. The faces of climate action.
Aljazeera America, Sept. 21, 2014. Protesters 'sound the climate alarm' in global marches.
Le Monde. May 7, 2014. LeMonde. L'UE d'accord pour une taxe Tobin minimale dès 2016.
Science Speaks: HIV & TB News. February 4, 2014. With Uganda anti-gay bill alive, clinicians, researchers seek to answer President Museveni’s questions on science, homosexuality.
Dehli Science Forum. January 24, 2014. South African Patients Need our Solidarity.
Selected 2013 Media
Health GAP's press release for the Senate Passage of PEPFAR Reauthorization, Nov. 19, 2013.
Health GAP press release on W.H.O. New Treatment Guidelines, June 30, 2013.
WBAI, Asia Pacific Forum- Generic Drug War: Global South vs. Big Pharma, June 17, 2013. Health GAP's Brook Baker interviewed.
NY Times, The Faces of H.I.V. in New York in 2013. Health GAP's Mark Milano is profiled.
SciDev.Net- Rich and poorest nations face off over TRIPS extension, May 21, 2013. Health GAP's Brook Baker is quoted.
Foreign Policy in Focus, May 20, 2013- TRIPping Up Least Developed Countries on Medicines, Green Tech, and Textbooks? by Health GAP's Matthew Kavanagh
Huffington Post, May 20, 2013- TRIPS Exemption Opposed By Obama Administration, Threatening Cost Spike For Drugs In Poorest Nations
Huffington Post, April 23, 2013- Inside-Outside Strategy On Wall Street Tax. Health GAP Mentioned.
Huffington Post, April 21, 2013- The New Bill to Rebuild the Nation with a Tax on Wall Street. Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn is quoted.
eNews Park Forest, April 17, 2013- Rep. Keith Ellison Reintroduces the Inclusive Prosperity Act Joined by Coalition...
Fire dog Lake, April 21, 2013- We are Going to Be Everywhere! Health GAP's Michael Tikili and Jennifer Flynn are quoted.
Former Investors, Nurses, Environmentalists, and Activists, Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn is quoted.
Congressmember Keith Ellison re-introduces the Inclusive Prosperity Act, April 17, 2013. Video of press conference. Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn speaks.
The Nation, April 17, 2013- A Robin Hood Response to the Austerity Lie: Tax Wall Street. Story about the re-introduction of Congressmember Ellison's bill with Health GAP mentioned.
The Lancet, April 13, 2013- India’s patent case victory rattles Big Pharma. Health GAP's Brook Baker is quoted.
Health GAP's press release on President Obama's FY 2014 budget
NY Times, April 4, 2013- India's Novartis Decision. Health GAP's Brook Baker was an advisor to this powerful op ed.
Intellectual Property Watch, April 1, 2013- Novartis Loses Patent Bid: Lessons From India’s 3(d) Experience. Health GAP's Brook Baker is quoted.
NPR, March 11, 2013- Cantor Offers Softer GOP Message. Harvard SGAC chapter and ACT UP Boston protest Cantor's budget.
Alternet, March 7, 2013- No More Excuses: Soaring Market Latest Evidence of Need to Tax Wall Street
Plus News, February, 25, 2013-Activists pressure Kenya's presidential candidates to act on HIV
Selected 2012 Media
Huffington Post, January 30, 2012-Health GAP's Matthew Kavanagh writes Can John Kerry Fix the Administration's AIDS Budget Problem?
CNN, Saturday Morning News, December 1, 2012- Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn interviewed about the Sequester.
Poz Magazine, December, 2012-Poz 100 The Soldiers, Health GAP's Michael Tikili is named one of the leading AIDS activists of his generation.
CNN, Starting Point, November 28, 2012- Naked AIDS activists protest assistance cuts in John Boehner's office (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn interviewed)
Washington Post, November 28, 2012-AIDS Activists Arrested After Disrobing in House Speaker Boehner's Office (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn quoted)
WAMU, Novermber 28, 2012- AIDS Activists Stage Naked Demonstration In Boehner's Office (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn interviewed)
US News and World Report, November 27, 2012- Nude AIDS Activists Arrested in Boehner's Office (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn quoted)
NY Times, November 27, 2012- In Protesting Cuts, AIDS Activists Bare All (Health GAP's Michael Tikili quoted)
fice: The three arrested had the words 'AIDS cuts kill' painted on their bodies and had linked arms with four men who also disrobed as part of the protest. (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn quoted)
Talking Points Memo, November 27, 2013- Nude Protesters Arrested After Storming Speaker Boehner’s Office (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn quoted)
CBS DC, November, 27, 2013- Nude AIDS Activists Arrested In Speaker Boehner’s Office (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn quoted)
Huffington Post, November 27, 2012-John Boehner Naked Protesters: Group Storms House Speaker's Office (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn quoted)
Bloomberg, November 27, 2012-Naked Ambition in Speaker’s Office: AIDS Activists Strip on Hill (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn quoted)
Business Insider, November 27 2012- Naked People Just Stormed John Boehner's Office To Protest Budget Cuts (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn quoted)
WJLA, November 27, 2012- John Boehner naked protesters arrested (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn quoted)
Raw Story, September 6, 2012- Five questions for: ‘Take the Money Out’ activist Paul Davis about disrupting a National Journal event
Raw Story, September 5, 2012- Five questions for a young activist fighting AIDS globally (SGAC's Amirah Sequeira interviewed)
Bloomberg Business Week, July 25, 2012- Obama Skipping AIDS Conference for Campaign Draws Activists’ Ire (Health GAP's Matthew Kavanagh quoted)
Washington Times, July 24, 2012-Obama hit for not showing at AIDS event (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn quoted)
news@Northeastern, July 20, 2012- 3Qs: High time for an AIDS ‘wake- up call’ (interview with Health GAP's Brook Baker)
PBSNewsHour, June 11, 2012- Activists Question Obama's AIDS Plan (Health GAP Kenya's Paul Davis interviewed)
Huffington Post, April 13, 2012- Health GAP's Matthew Kavanagh writes, "Transformative Development: How Jim Yong Kim Might Change the World Bank"
Huffington Post, March 12, 2012-Health GAP's Matthew Kavanagh writes, "World Bank: Drastic Reformer Needed to Right a Failing Agenda"
Poz Magazine, January/February, 2012-Forgotten Sons. Health GAP's Michael Tikili is interviewed about his experience living with HIV.
Selected 2011 Media
NY Times, December 1, 2011-Obama Says He Will Seek More Money for AIDS Programs (Health GAP's Matt Kavanagh quoted)
NPR, December 1, 2011-Obama Embraces 'End of AIDS,' Promises to Accelerate AIDS Treatment (Health GAP's Jennifer Flynn interviewed)
IRIN, December 1, 2011- HIV/AIDS: Obama applauded for new treatment pledge (Health GAP's Asia Russell interviewed)
Columbia Spector, November 30, 2011- Halfway through AIDS pandemic? Hopefully, according to advocates (SGAC's Amirah Sequeira interviewed)
Health Affairs, November 29, 2011- PEPFAR’s Declining Investment In HIV/AIDS Treatment (by Health GAP's Matt Kavanagh and Margie Thorp
Village Voice, June 22, 2011- Generation HIV: Young Gay Men At Risk (interview with Michael Tikili)
Health Justice in Uganda
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Uganda's only cancer treatment machine breaks, patients left waiting
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Uganda: NMS, Cipla Bickering Over Expensive HIV/AIDS Drugs
"The key issue with Cipla supplying hepatitis B medicines is that these are the same medicines where we are not getting a competitive price," says Asia Russell, Executive Director of a Civil Society Organization - Health GAP (Global Access Project).
She blames Cipla's monopoly. "Uganda needs a sustainable supply of generic treatment, but the medicines must be competitively priced," she says.
She adds: "The demand of a national business for a subsidy is not on the same level as the need of people with HIV for access to life saving treatment. The government shouldn't pit the two demands against each other as if they were equivalent".
Health GAP and its partners are fighting for an end to the AIDS epidemic in Uganda, through advocating for acceleration of HIV treatment—with earlier, faster initiation—evidence based HIV prevention, urgent scale up of “Option B+,” and an end to deadly exclusion of men who have sex with men and other marginalized groups—all strategies that will help Uganda save lives, halt new infections, and cut costs.[1] While in the past Uganda was been lauded as a global HIV success story, Uganda is now one of a small minority of countries with generalized, mature HIV epidemics that are reporting rising HIV prevalence.[2] In Uganda, prevalence has risen from 6.4 to 7.3% between 2006 and 2012 and incidence is also estimated by Ministry of Health to have increased between 2005 and 2011. Importantly, Uganda is the only PEPFAR “Focus Country” reporting rising HIV incidence[3]—all other PEPFAR focus countries have consistently reported declines in incidence as well as prevalence in recent years.
One reason for these troubling trends is the fact that Uganda for years moved too slowly in scaling up lifesaving HIV treatment. In 2010 Uganda made headlines when PEPFAR pursued a disastrous policy in the country, of capping new HIV treatment enrollees--Health GAP helped uncover evidence of this decision, written in a memo to PEPFAR implementers in Uganda. The example of Uganda was the beginning of what Health GAP learned was a more widespread effort to slow down the scale up of life saving, high impact interventions, particularly HIV treatment. Health GAP wrote a letter to the Obama Administration calling for immediate course correction in the response; international protest and international media attention (see more media: here and here) also increased attention on the consequences of the U.S. government position. Thanks to this pressure, the Administration reversed course in Uganda, and then in 2011 committed to doubling the pace of treatment enrollment to reach 6 million people on treatment by 2013.
Uganda has also resisted investments in evidence based prevention—serodiscordant couples, sex workers, men who have sex with men and fishing communities have disproportionately high prevalence rates, but the national response does not target them with evidence based interventions. Advocacy by Health GAP and others has helped draw attention to this crisis—in September 2012 Health GAP and 13 other civil society organizations released a ‘Shadow Report’ during the Joint Annual Review of the AIDS Response, offering a 10 point prescription for change to end the epidemic in Uganda.
In the lead up to the 2011 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, Health GAP and the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS East Africa (ICWEA) hit the campaign trail and challenged candidates to commit to bold but feasible promises to tackle the epidemic. Through community mobilization, smart press work, and showing up at every possible candidate appearance, 4 of 5 of the major Presidential candidates pledged their public commitment to a civil society action plan against AIDS.
In 2011 Health GAP challenged the slow pace of treatment scale up in Uganda and the lack of investment in high impact prevention interventions by PEPFAR, sending a letter to AIDS Ambassador Eric Goosby calling for a massive shift in priorities and investments in the PEPFAR Country Operational Plan (COP) for Uganda for 2012. The 2012 COP was drastically rewritten, and now includes support for major treatment acceleration, Option B+, and increased investment in men who have sex with men, sex workers, and other marginalized groups.
Health GAP also advocates for an end to preventable maternal mortality—which kills 16 women daily in the country—as a member of the Coordinating Group of the Civil Society Coalition to Stop Maternal Mortality in Uganda. We support groundbreaking strategic litigation in the judiciary on maternal mortality, Petition 16 of 2011, filed by the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD). We have fought for major increases in recruitment of professional health workers, with an increase in their financial and non-financial remuneration, resulting in a victory in 2012, with a commitment by Parliament and the Executive to invest 49.5 billion shillings ($20 million) in recruiting 6,172 new professional health workers, with more than a doubling of the pay of doctors in Health Center IVs. This is more than a 25% increase in the number of professional health workers on staff.
Health GAP collaborates with LGBTI movements, fighting for an end to deadly exclusion and discrimination by advocating against the Anti Homosexuality Bill and working for a national AIDS Response that reflects evidence and epidemiology in Uganda. On Human Rights Day, December 10 2012, Health GAP worked with CEHURD and 100 other civil society organizations to support CEHURD in filling an urgent appeal with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, asking that he launch an investigation into the likely health impacts of the Anti Homosexuality Bill, and that he inform the Government of Uganda of resultant violations of international human rights law if the were to become law.
Asia Russell, Health GAP’s Executive Director, is working on the ground in Uganda with Health GAP. To learn more about this work, please contact [email protected].
Press Releases
August 4, 2016 – Activists Condemn Ugandan Police Attack on Lawful LGBTI Pride Celebration
March 3, 2016 – New Audit of Global Fund Grants in Uganda finds millions in unspent funds
[1] PEPFAR Blueprint for an AIDS Free Generation, 2012. P. 10.
[2] Angola, Mozambique, Uganda are the only countries in this category. See WHO: Global HIV/AIDS Response, Epidemic Update and Health Sector Progress Towards Universal Access, Progress Report, 2011. p. 12-17.
[3] PEPFAR Focus Countries have received the highest levels of US government prevention, care and treatment funding since PEPFAR was started in 2003. They are: Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia.