New Law to Demand HIV Tests for Rapists in SOUTH AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA: /RIGHTS/HEALTH/ /31/10/02 Sabanews

JOHANNESBURG – Rape survivors in SOUTH AFRICA can now demand that their rapists be tested for HIV, according to a report from Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency.

The South African government in mid-October approved a new law called the ‘Compulsory HIV Testing of Alleged Sexual Offenders’.

SOUTH AFRICA has one of the highest rates of rapes in the world, says the IPS report. The country also has the second highest rate of AIDS infection, according to the United Nations.

This double jeopardy means rape survivors face not only the trauma of rape, but also the spectre of AIDS infection.

Henceforth when a rapist is arrested his victim can apply for him to be tested for HIV.

SOUTH AFRICA also increased government spending on the fight against HIV and AIDS last week.

An additional roughly R3.3-billion over the next three years will also go towards prevention of mother-to-child transmission, says IPS.

This financial commitment to provide anti-retroviral drugs in the public health services sets to rest controversy in SOUTH AFRICA. /Sabanews/an

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Patient Rights Win over Patent Rights

THAILAND: /RIGHTS/HEALTH/ /31/10/02 Sabanews

CHIANG MAI – THAILAND has won the right to produce cheaper life saving drugs for its HIV-affected people.

THAILAND’s state-run Government Pharmaceutical Organisation will go ahead with manufacturing didanosine (ddl) at half the price charged by a UNITED STATES-based drug company, Bristol-Myers Squibb, says a report by Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency.

On Oct. 1, a Bangkok court struck down the U.S. company's exclusive right to produce ddl.

Nimit Tienudom, executive director of AIDS Access Foundation, hailed the judgement as the first court victory for HIV/AIDS patients.

He told IPS that the ruling against the transnational drug manufacturer has set a precedent for other AIDS advocacy groups and patients to follow.

Currently, these life-saving medicines often cannot be accessed in developing countries because they are extremely expensive -- a triple combination therapy costs 10,000 dollars per year. /Sabanews/an
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Pregnant Women Tested for HIV/AIDS Without Consent in CANADA

CANADA: /RIGHTS/HEALTH/ /31/10/02 Sabanews

TORONTO – Pregnant women in CANADA are being automatically tested for HIV/AIDS without taking their consent, Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency reports.

Under Canadian health law, patients have the right to be fully informed about medical procedures and the ability to say no when the doctor seeks to administer them.

Almost 40 percent of surveyed pregnant women in Calgary Alberta, recently told the city’s health authorities that they were given a HIV/AIDS test without their knowledge during the prenatal examination.

Ralf Jurgens, president of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, told IPS some doctors are ignoring the informed consent provisions with regard to HIV/AIDS.

Generally, patients tend to go along with what the doctor suggests.

At the same time physicians think they don’t have to tell patients that they are being tested.

A survey of 700 doctors in CANADA found some respondents thought the informed consent provisions were complicated and time-consuming, says IPS. /Sabanews/an

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