Special points of interest: Upcoming events Internet Links Employment/ volunteer opportunities Volume #2, Issue 3 April 2010 CANAC CHAT Let s keep in touch! Invitation for Member questions and comments 18th Annual CANAC Conference 2010 Inside this issue: HIV/AIDS: Working within a turbulent political and economic landscape Join us in Fredericton! April 18-21, 2010 Conference Announcement On-line Membership Info 1 2 ACRN Info 2 Email Links - English 2 Coming Events 3 Sites web francophones Access to Medicines Acces universel aux medicaments 3 4 5 In a few days, HIV nurses from every province and territory in Canada will be meeting in Fredericton (NB) for the Annual CANAC Conference. This conference will be held at the Crown Plaza Fredericton, Lord Beaverbrook Hotel located on the banks of the picturesque Saint John River in the heart of downtown Fredericton. This new and beautifully renovated hotel is the only downtown venue that is situated within close walking distance to the Provincial Legislature, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, The Fredericton Playhouse, and Fredericton s unique shopping/entertainment district (http://www.cpfredericton.com ) You can still register online for this conference by logging onto the CANAC website: www.canac.org We look forward to seeing you at the conference! Send us your comments! If you would like to share a resource, idea or comments with other members of CANAC please contact us. You can submit an article (yours or from your network), send an internet link or ask a question. Just let us know. Are you aware of a regional event that you would like other members to know about? The CANAC Chat and the newsletter post information about national events but news about regional events can be readily shared with the other area members by contacting your regional representative or info@canac.org
Page 2 On-line Membership payment is now here We are hoping to increase our numbers by introducing this time saving measure for the application process. If you have colleagues who would be interested in membership, please pass along the website information. Strength often comes with numbers and we want to ensure that we have a voice when we are needed to advocate, educate and work for the ideals we value. We hope that by communicating regularly with you as members, you will find value in your membership. Please note that any contributions or stories you have would be welcome in the newsletter or CHAT. REMEMBER - CANAC membership benefits include: Reduced registration fee for the CANAC Annual Conference A newsletter, the CANAC Connection, published three times a year Eligibility for CANAC/ACIIS Awards of Excellence Opportunities for involvement through board, committees and special projects Local, regional, national and international networking Access to information on coming events, job and volunteer opportunities for HIV/AIDS nurses Discounted rate on the ANAC (USA) HIV/AIDS Nursing Certification exam Access to the combined expertise of CANAC nurses through our e-bulletin board and CANAC/CATIE nursing resource website (www.catie.ca/eng/nurses/index.htm) ACRN certification and AACRN certification - Important dates The Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC) and the HIV/AIDS Nursing Certification Board (HANCB) endorse the concept of voluntary, periodic certification by examination for all nurses in HIV/AIDS nursing. Certification is one part of a process called credentialing. It focuses specifically on the individual and is an indication of current competence in a specialized area of practice. Board certification in HIV/AIDS nursing is highly valued and provides formal recognition of HIV/AIDS nursing knowledge. If you are interested to go through this certification process, please refer to this web site for more information: http://www.hancb.org/ ACRN certification AACRN certification (advanced) Application deadline: September 1, 2010 Application deadline: September 1, 2010 Testing dates: October 10- October 24, 2010 Testing dates: October 9-October 23, 2010 Email Links UBC's Urban Health Research Initiative - NEW REPORT Effect of Drug Law Enforcement on Drug-Related Violence: Evidence from a Scientific Review Available online at http://uhri.cfenet.ubc.ca Ontario Working Group on Criminal Law and HIV Exposure (CLHE) Position Paper on the Criminalization of HIV Non-Disclosure Available online at http://www.cdnaids.ca/web/mailouts.nsf/pages/cas-mailout-0587 Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network : NEW REPORT (02.2010) Under the Skin: A People s Case for Prison Needle and Syringe Programs Available online at http://www.aidslaw.ca/publications/publicationsdocen.php?ref=1014 Human Rights Watch - NEWS Mississippi Stops Segregating Prisoners With HIV http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/03/17/mississippi-stops-segregating-prisoners-hiv UNAIDS - NEWS UNAIDS chief calls on Canada to ensure G8 delivers on universal access pledges http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsid=33923&cr=hiv&cr1= Email Links Use a link Send a link Share a link
Page 3 Upcoming Events 19 th Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR) May 13 th -16 th 2010, Saskatoon, SK http://www.cahr-acrv.ca/ http://www.cahr2010.ca/ The 19th Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research - CAHR 2010 - will be held in Saskatoon to focus attention on the changing face of HIV/AIDS in this country. The theme of New Challenges, New Commitments reflects this new direction. This year, the conference pays special attention to the explosive spread of infection in the Aboriginal community across the Prairies. Once again, CAHR will have a stellar program of world-renowned speakers including Nobel Prize winner Dr. Barré-Sinoussi, XVIII International AIDS conference - Rights Here, Rights Now July 18 th -23 rd 2010, Vienna, Austria http://www.aids2010.org/ Given the 2010 deadline for universal access set by world leaders, AIDS 2010 will coincide with a major push for expanded access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. With a global economic crisis threatening to undermine public investments, the conference will help keep HIV on the front burner, and is a chance to demonstrate the importance of continued HIV investments to broader health and development goals. AIDS 2010 is also an opportunity to highlight the critical connection between human rights and HIV; a dialogue begun in earnest in Mexico City in 2008. The selection of the AIDS 2010 host city is a reflection of the central role Vienna has played in bridging Eastern and Western Europe, and will allow for an examination of the epidemic s impact in Eastern Europe. 2010 ANAC Conference November 18 th -21 st 2010, Grand Sierra, Reno, NV http://www.nursesinaidscare.org This year's ANAC Conference theme is Remembering, Recommitting, Reaching, Reforming: Implications for the Future of HIV Nursing. The Conference will address international and domestic issues related to HIV and AIDS for nurses new to the specialty as well as experienced clinicians and researchers. Various learning activities, expert speakers, roundtable discussions and presentations (practice, education/administration, and research) will address HIV nursing issues related to the Conference objectives. This year ANAC will also address issues related to the interdisciplinary teams we work with, especially social workers and dieticians. CALL FOR ABSTRACTS DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION : MAY 17 TH 2010 Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network 2nd Annual Symposium on HIV, Law and Human Rights: June 2010 From Evidence and Principle to Policy and Practice REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR THIS SYMPOSIUM http://www.aidslaw.ca/en/agm2010/index.htm Email Links - Sites web francophones http://frequencevih.ca/ Conçu au départ par et pour des séropos, Fréquence VIH est un réseau francophone VIH-sida, ouvert sur les autres et sur le monde. Il présente des informations, un forum, des opinions, des témoignages, des productions audio et vidéo. Fréquence VIH vise à devenir un observatoire francophone du VIH/sida mis en œuvre par et pour les personnes séropositives en étroite collaboration avec ceux et celles qui nous soutiennent. http://www.vih.org/ VIH.org est un portail d informations et de services communautaire au service des professionnels et des personnes atteintes, au Nord et au Sud de la France. http://www.vih.org/transcriptases La revue Transcriptases - Revue critique de l'actualité scientifique internationale sur le sida et les hépatites. Une référence incontournable en langue française. À lire absolument!
Page 4 CAMPAIGN FOR UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO MEDICINES GOES GLOBAL Efforts to reform Canada s Access to Medicines Regime ramping up in Canada and abroad TORONTO, March 24, 2010 The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network is joining a global movement of legal and trade experts, activists and students, grandmothers groups and labour organizations. They are calling on the Canadian government to use its current leadership position to ensure greater access to medicines for AIDS and other public health needs in developing countries, notably by passing Bill C-393, which proposes to streamline Canada s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR). Canada is strategically positioned at the moment to exert enlightened leadership, points out Richard Elliott, Executive Director of the Legal Network, especially since Prime Minister Harper has stated that Canada wants to promote measures to improve maternal and child health. Elliott notes that Canada is hosting a number of key meetings in the coming days and months: Foreign Ministers of the G20 countries (Ottawa, March 29-30); Development Ministers (Halifax, April 26-28); the G8 summit (near Huntsville, Ontario, June 25-26); and the G20 summit (Toronto, June 26-27). In addition, Canada is expected to participate in upcoming meetings aimed at replenishing the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria but so far has made no commitments of ongoing funding. The Global Fund is a multilateral G8 initiative that has helped scale up HIV prevention services and access to medicines for these three diseases throughout the developing world. The campaign to push for greater and more affordable access to medicines has recently been ramped up in Canada and in over 20 African countries. The African Regional Organization of the International Trade Union Confederation is encouraging its members to mobilize and write to Canadian embassies at the same time as the Canadian Labour Congress is launching an e-postcard campaign, holding a national conference and planning meetings with MPs to support the goal of universal access, which was adopted by the G8 countries at their 2005 summit. Today, Montreal students and other community members are rallying in front of the office of their local MP, Liberal Industry Critic Marc Garneau, calling on him to support Bill C-393. Profile-raising actions are also taking place at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, at the University of Toronto and at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Parliament has an opportunity to pass Bill C-393 and that can be a win for everyone, said Elliott. It s a win for patients in the developing world who need medicines, a win for Canadian generic companies that can supply those medicines, a win for brandname companies that would get royalties and a win for Canada s international reputation all at no cost to Canadian taxpayers. Bill C-393, a private member s bill on reforming CAMR, passed second reading in the House of Commons last December and is now before the Industry Committee. Since CAMR was created almost 6 years ago, it has resulted in only a single HIV drug being supplied once to one country. Proposals to fix CAMR are also endorsed by59 prominent Canadians, including former Prime Minister Paul Martin, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario James Bartleman, former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis, past International President of Médecins Sans Frontières Dr. James Orbinski, arts leader Karen Kain, environmental activist David Suzuki, and author Sally Armstrong, among others. Last December, they wrote an open letter calling on parliamentarians to reform CAMR. Their call amplifies the opinion of 80 percent of Canadians who support the key changes proposed by Bill C-393, according to a poll done by opinion research firm Pollara for the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Canadian Crossroads International and UNICEF Canada. The open letter and complete poll results, along with further background, can be viewed at www.aidslaw.ca/camr. About the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (www.aidslaw.ca) promotes the human rights of people living with and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, in Canada and internationally, through research, legal and policy analysis, education and community mobilization. The Legal Network is Canada s leading organization working on the legal and human rights issues raised by HIV/AIDS. For further information and interviews: Gilles Marchildon Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network +1 416 595-1666 ext. 228 Cell: +1 647 248-2400 gmarchildon@aidslaw.ca
Page 5 EXPANSION MONDIALE DE LA CAMPAGNE POUR L «ACCÈS UNIVERSEL» AUX MÉDICAMENTS Les efforts pour une réforme du Régime canadien d accès aux médicaments s intensifient, au Canada et à l étranger TORONTO : Le 24 mars 2010 Le Réseau juridique canadien VIH/sida se joint à un mouvement mondial d experts en droit et en commerce international, d activistes et d étudiants, de groupes de grands-mères ainsi que de syndicats. Ensemble, ils exhortent le gouvernement canadien à mettre à contribution son leadership actuel pour élargir l accès aux médicaments contre le sida et pour d autres besoins de santé publique dans les pays en développement, notamment en adoptant le Projet de loi C-393, qui propose de simplifier le Régime canadien d accès aux médicaments (RCAM). «Le Canada est en position stratégique pour exercer un leadership judicieux», souligne Richard Elliott, directeur général du Réseau juridique, «en particulier depuis que le premier ministre Harper a affirmé que le Canada entend promouvoir des mesures pour améliorer la santé des mères et enfants». M. Elliott note que le Canada sera l hôte de plusieurs importantes rencontres au cours des prochains jours et mois : ministres des Affaires étrangères des pays du G20 ( Ottawa, 29-30 mars); ministres du Développement international (Halifax, 26-28 avril); Sommet du G8 (près de Huntsville, Ontario, 25-26 juin); et Sommet du G20 (Toronto, 26-27 juin). De plus, le Canada est attendu aux réunions prochaines pour la reconstitution financière du Fonds mondial de lutte contre le sida, la tuberculose et le paludisme, mais il n a affiché jusqu ici aucun engagement à un financement continu. Le Fonds mondial est une initiative multilatérale du G8 qui a contribué à l expansion des services de prévention du VIH ainsi que de l accès aux médicaments dans le monde en développement, contre les trois maladies relevant de son mandat. La campagne de plaidoyer pour un accès élargi à des médicaments plus abordables a récemment pris de l élan, au Canada et dans plus de 20 pays d Afrique. L Organisation régionale pour l Afrique de la Confédération syndicale internationale a invité ses membres à se mobiliser et à écrire aux ambassades canadiennes, au même moment où le Congrès du travail du Canada lance une campagne de cartes électroniques, donne une conférence de presse nationale et prévoit des rencontres avec des député-es, à l appui de progrès vers le but de l «accès universel» qu avaient adopté les pays du G8 lors de leur sommet de 2005. Aujourd hui, à Montréal, des étudiants et d autres membres de la communauté se rassembleront devant le bureau de leur député local, Marc Garneau, porte-parole libéral en matière d industrie, pour l exhorter à appuyer le Projet de loi C-393. Des actions de visibilité sont aussi prévues à l Université Simon Fraser de Vancouver, à l Université de Toronto et à l Université Dalhousie de Halifax. «Le Parlement a l occasion d adopter le Projet de loi C-393, qui serait une victoire pour tous», a expliqué M. Elliott. «Ce serait une victoire pour les patients dans les pays en développement, qui ont besoin de médicaments; une victoire pour les fabricants canadiens de médicaments génériques, qui pourront fournir ces médicaments; une victoire pour les sociétés pharmaceutiques de marque, qui toucheraient des redevances; et une victoire pour le Canada en termes de renommée internationale tout cela sans aucun coût pour les contribuables canadiens.» Le Projet de loi C-393, émanant d une députée et visant la réforme du RCAM, a franchi l étape de la deuxième lecture à la Chambre des communes en décembre dernier; il est à présent examiné par le Comité de l industrie. Depuis sa création il y a près de six ans, le RCAM n a permis la livraison que d un seul médicament anti-vih, à un seul pays. Des propositions pour rectifier le RCAM ont été appuyées par 59 éminents Canadiens, notamment l ancien premier ministre Paul Martin, l ancien gouverneur général de l Ontario James Bartleman, l ancien envoyé spécial de l ONU pour le sida en Afrique Stephen Lewis, l ex-président de Médecins Sans Frontières D r James Orbinski, la leader artistique Karen Kain, le militant environnemental David Suzuki et l écrivaine Sally Armstrong. En décembre, ces personnalités ont écrit une lettre ouverte enjoignant les parlementaires de réformer le RCAM. Leur appel fait écho à l opinion de 80 % des Canadiens et Canadiennes qui se sont dit en faveur des principaux changements proposés par le Projet de loi C-393, dans un sondage d opinion publique réalisé par le cabinet Pollara pour le Réseau juridique canadidien VIH/sida, Carrefour canadien international et UNICEF Canada. La lettre ouverte, les résultats complets du sondage ainsi que d autres renseignements de fond sont accessibles à www.aidslaw.ca/rcam. Au sujet du Réseau juridique canadien VIH/sida Le Réseau juridique canadien VIH/sida (www.aidslaw.ca) œuvre à la promotion des droits humains des personnes vivant avec le VIH/sida ou vulnérables au VIH, au Canada et dans le monde, par ses travaux de recherche, d analyse juridique et des politiques, d éducation et de mobilisation communautaire. Le Réseau juridique est l organisme chef de file au Canada sur les enjeux juridiques et de droits de la personne liés au VIH/sida. Pour de plus amples renseignements et pour entrevues : Gilles Marchildon, Réseau juridique canadien VIH/sida +1 416 595-1666 (poste 228) Cellu. : +1 647 248-2400 gmarchildon@aidslaw.ca