By Christopher Cappiello

Clinton Negotiates Low-Cost AIDS Drugs

In the first step in a 2006 effort to lower the cost of second-line HIV/AIDS treatments in developing countries, the William J. Clinton Foundation announced new pricing agreements on Jan. 12 that will make the antiretroviral drugs efavirenz and abacavir available at discounts of more than 30 percent. The announcement also included news of negotiated discounts in HIV testing for developing countries.

"Treatment, once started, is a lifelong commitment, and over time patients move from low-price first-line drugs to second-line combinations that are at least 10 times more expensive," former President Bill Clinton said at his Harlem office during the announcement. Many people living with HIV develop resistance to first-line treatments over time and cannot afford higher priced alternatives

The Clinton Foundation negotiated the new pricing agreement with five drug companies: Cipla, Ranbaxy, Strides Arcolab, and Matrix Laboratories, all in India, and South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare. Matrix will provide the pharmaceutical ingredients, according to a foundation statement, and the other countries will offer efavirenz at an annual cost of $240 per patient. Cipla will offer abacavir for $447 annually. Through the Clinton Foundation's Procurement Consortium, the drugs will be made available to 50 developing nations.

The announcement on low-cost HIV testing is critical to the global fight against AIDS, as the foundation reports that more than 90 percent of people living with HIV don't know it. Four companies will offer rapid HIV testing for $0.49-$0.65 per test, allowing some countries to cut the cost of diagnosis by up to 50 percent. "Widespread testing is essential to make prevention and treatment work, and making diagnosis cheaper will allow us to extend testing services to more people, more quickly," Clinton said in a statement.

The foundation estimates that developing countries will have to conduct at least 200 million HIV tests in the next four years to reach treatment targets. The tests included in the new agreement have met the sensitivity and specificity criteria of the World Health Organization.

Half of UK's Gay Workforce in the Closet

Results of a study released Jan. 13 show that only 52 percent of gay men and 51 percent of lesbians in the UK feel they can be open about their sexuality in the workplace. The Out Now Consulting Diva and Gay Times Readers Surveys were conducted from March to December 2005 by Out Now Consulting, a gay marketing research firm based in London.

The surveys also showed that 9 percent of gay men and 12 percent of lesbians were harassed at work in the last year because of their sexuality. In contrast, Out Now Consulting points out that a 2004 study they conducted in the Netherlands revealed only 2.8 percent of gay men had experienced harassment at work.

"In the medium to long term, [being closeted at work] affects workplace productivity, loyalty and ultimately can result in otherwise well-qualified lesbian and gay staff leaving a job because they can longer keep up a pretense of being heterosexual," said Ian Johnson, managing director of Out Now, in a press release. "UK workplaces need to improve on these figures both as a matter of social justice and also as a matter of business profits and workplace productivity."

South African Gays Defy Blood Donor Ban

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance in South Africa has organized protests to the country's ban on accepting blood donations from gay men, and members have vowed to lie on donor questionnaires and "flood" the system with gay blood, BBC News reports.

"A man who has had sex with another man within the last five years, whether oral or anal sex, with or without a condom or other form of protection, is not permitted to donate blood and must please not do so," said South African National Blood Service head Robert Crookes on Jan. 12, according to Agence France Presse. Crookes explained that all blood donations are tested, but insisted research and international practice supported his order. Blood donors are asked, "Have you had male-to-male sex in the past five years?"

"[The question] is humiliating, offensive and an insult to gay men," Juan Uys, a spokesman for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance, told BBC. He claimed that Alliance members had already donated 120 units of "gay blood" and aimed to get 70,000 units into the system. A spokeswoman for the country's blood service insisted screening procedures were based on guidelines from the World Health Organization.

Last year the service was embarrassed when it was revealed it was destroying blood donated by blacks, including a high-profile donation from President Thabo Mbeki, because they claimed blacks posed a greater risk than whites for HIV infection.

The American Red Cross maintains a ban on blood donated from men who have had sex with men. As blood testing has become more sophisticated, some countries, including Australia and the Netherlands, have relaxed similar bans.

Colombian Councilman Proposes Mandatory Condoms

A city councilman in the western Colombian town of Tulua recently made international headlines by proposing that everyone over the age of 14 must carry a condom at all times in an effort to combat the spread of HIV.

"Sexual relations are going on constantly," the councilman, William Pena, told The Associated Press. "If you carry a condom, chances are you'll use it during the day." He said he was considering a condom requirement that would apply even to visitors to the small city 150 miles southwest of Bogota. If you are caught condomless, Pena's plan would impose a $180 fine or require a safe sex class.

Pena's proposal sparked widespread condemnation by clergy in a country that is 90 percent Roman Catholic. "Nobody can force someone to carry a condom in their pocket," Rev. Roberto Sarmiento, a local priest, told the AP. "They should instead carry the responsibility of what sexual relations mean." He suggested that improved education would be more effective than mandatory condoms.

The World Health Organization reports that 190,000 people live with HIV/AIDS in Colombia, second only to Brazil in Latin America.