Articles
Millenium Mela: A Report
August 2001
Nidhi Dubey gives a report of the Millenium Mela at Kolkata
Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) organised a Millenium Mela from March 3rd to 6th, 2001 at Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium), Kolkata. It aimed at placing sex workers rights on the global agenda. The Mela was the meeting ground for all sex workers of the world _ of all class, creed or gender, as well as organisations and individuals committed to the rights of sex workers. Read more
Access to Drugs Update
June 2001
Sharan Parmar examines the happenings in access to drugs
Down but not necessarily out: Pharmaceutical companies in South Africa withdraw their legal challenge to affordable medicine legislation
International HIV/AIDS activists have been celebrating what is being called a "rare victory for the world's poor over powerful multinational corporations (MNCs)." In a surprise move, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PMA) announced on April 19th, that it was withdrawing its legal action against the South African government, which had been brought before the Pretoria High Court. Moreover, the PMA has stated that it will pay the legal costs incurred thus far by the South African government and friend-of-the-court, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC).Read more
Mother to Child Transmission of HIV
May 2001
Mother to Child - Transmission of HIV :
Dilemmas and Challenges before the State
Tripti Tandon
An estimated 3.8 million children have died of AIDS across the world. Another 1.3 million are currently living with HIV and a majority of them were peri-natally infected [that is transmission of HIV from an HIV infected mother to her child]. In the absence of treatment administered to the mother, the chances of peri-natal transmission range from 16 to 40 percent.Read more
Access to Drugs
April 2001
Anand Grover
The recent announcement by CIPLA, a leading drug company in India, to provide Anti-Retro Viral (ARV) triple drug combination therapy for treating HIV patients at USD 340 per annum, has literally started a price war in the international pharmaceutical market for ARVs. Following on the heels of the CIPLA offer, Hetero Drugs from Hyderabad announced a price of USD 347 per annum for their version of the ARV triple combination therapy.Read more
A Tryst with Dominic
March 2001
Anand Grover
This is a letter to Dominic D’Souza, the celebrated and the first HIV positive activist in India who brought me into the field of HIV and in whose memory I continue to work on the rights of Persons Living With HIV/AIDS. He left us for the other world on May 26, 1992.
Dear Dominic,
It is a long time since we met. We have communicated often, though it will be difficult for me to explain to the readers how that happened.Read more