Annual Meeting 2011

Resolutions

CNA Resolutions - June 2004

RESOLUTION 11	ADDITIONAL SUPPORT TO COMBAT HIV/AIDS IN AFRICA
To be discussed at the November 2004 meeting of the CNA Board of Directors

BE IT RESOLVED,That the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) be commended for its leadership in supporting the development of nursing infrastructures in developing countries and thus helping to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in these countries; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That CNA urge the Government of Canada to increase its support to developing countries for the prevention, counselling, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS and in particular, support the education, training and mobilization of nursing organizations and personnel in these countries to accelerate the battle with the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Background

Forty million people worldwide are currently living with HIV/AIDS and another 45 million may become infected by 2010. The disease is having a particularly devastating effect on Sub-Saharan Africa where 2.3 million people died of HIV/AIDS in 2003, an estimated 26.6 million people are HIV positive and there are more than 11 million AIDS orphans.

In addition, an estimated five to six million individuals in developing countries are in need of anti-retroviral therapy today. These people are HIV positive and their lives would be prolonged by the use of such anti-retroviral medicines. Despite some dramatic reductions in the price of these drugs over the past three years, the costs associated with anti-retrovirals and other medicines for HIV/AIDS are still very high. Even when taking full advantage of the lowest possible prices on the global market, the annual cost of antiretroviral therapy is still more than the national budget for health care in some countries, and thus is inaccessible to many individuals.

In addition to access to anti-retroviral drugs at an affordable price, HIV/AIDS prevention programs, education and awareness directed at youth, and in particular young marginalized women, and community-based support interventions are also urgently required in many developing countries. While most nations have increased spending to fight HIV/AIDS, only a fraction of the world’s population has access to basic prevention or treatment programs.

Nurses are at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS, particularly in those underdeveloped countries where a nurse may be the only health professional with whom an individual ever has an interaction. Despite the health risk to themselves, and the high rate of infection of health care providers themselves, nurses are caring for millions of patients and their families, often without the necessary education, training or medicines. Given the shortage of other health care professionals in many countries, nurses have also taken on the responsibility of educating the broader population about HIV/AIDS.

Canadian nursing efforts are making a contribution to the global battle against AIDS through the involvement of CNA in a five-year development project to support nurses working with HIV/AIDS patients in South Africa through a partnership with the Democratic Nursing Association of South Africa (DENOSA). It is designed to support South African nurses and midwives in strengthening their capacities and participation in HIV/AIDS initiatives, especially in rural environments.

Activities incorporated into the project include determining gaps and obstacles in the health care system and providing education and technical skills to upgrade nursing skills, particularly pertaining to the provision of HIV/AIDS home care so that nurses on the HIV/AIDS front line can provide the best possible care, while protecting themselves from infection.

CNA is also involved in another partnership, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), to support nurses in developing countries advance the nursing profession’s role, strengthen the nursing profession and improve the overall quality of nursing and health services. Particular emphasis is being placed on strengthening national nursing associations, nursing leadership and capacity in some of these developing countries.

Projects are underway in southern Africa, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Ecuador, El Salvador and Nicaragua, with those in southern Africa, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Vietnam specifically addressing HIV/AIDS outcomes.

Beyond the direct activities of the CNA, at the federal government level, Bill C-9, an Act to amend the Patent Act and the Food and Drugs Act, was passed by the House of Commons on May 4, 2004. It is currently under review by the Senate where it could be amended before being passed into legislation in due course. This act would assist in allowing the export of desperately needed cheaper, generic medicines to developing countries, and in particular, drugs to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Advocacy groups have commended the Canadian government for being the first country in the world to take this type of step but have also suggested that the legislation could have been improved and are urging other countries to pass similar but stronger legislation which would enable an even broader array of pharmaceutical products than those defined in the Canadian legislation to be eligible for export to developing countries.

Submitted by the Alberta Association of Registered Nurses