Pete Witzler's blog

The following was originally posted on PHR's Blog AIDS. It's not over, about the Iranian HIV/AIDS Docs I posted about recently here.  

 

The most moving aspect of AIDS 2008 so far for me has been meeting so many of Kamiar and Arash Alaei’s friends and colleagues—all of whom have stories and kind words about the two physicians detained in Iran and are hoping to see the brothers again soon. Today, one of their colleagues, Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman, gave an important plenary speech about her work on harm reduction—and in front of thousands of conference participants, made an impassioned plea to the Iranian Government to free Arash and Kamiar. To sustained applause, we walked in front of the plenary carrying signs with photos of the brothers and the URL for the petition to the government of Iran, IranFreeTheDocs.org. We passed out thousands of buttons and stickers, which are now all over the conference.  read more »

My colleagues at PHR have been busy in the press room at the AIDS Conference this year.  On Monday, they released “The Right to Health and Health Workforce Planning: A Guide for Government Officials, NGOs, Health Workers and Development Partners.”   According to the press release, the guide already has its fans.

I  find this document impressive, accessible, and groundbreaking. When one reads the document one can’t but be amazed by the intense and intensive, broad and detailed consultations that have gone into this unique publication. It should be a pocket book to every health professional, a bible to every Minister of Health, a guiding star for every health and human rights expert and novice.

—Maxwell V. Madzikanga, Senior HIV/AIDS Researcher to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health  read more »

Two internationally respected Iranian physicians, Drs. Arash Alaei and Kamiar Alaei, were arrested at the end of June by Iranian authorities and appear to be held in incommunicado detention. The doctors are experts on HIV/AIDS and have worked for many years on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment activities in Iran and internationally.  Their whereabouts remain unknown. 

In partnership with international organizations, PHR has created a petition calling for the Iranian government to release or formally charge the brothers.  Dr. Arash Alaei was scheduled to present about his work on treatment and prevention for injecting drug users at the AIDS Conference next week, and IAS has called for their release.  We urge all conference participants to sign the above petition to show the world's concern for Arash and Kamiar's human rights, so please act today.   read more »

It is my pleasure to share with you a "Statement on the Rights of Nurses to Health and Safety- A Global Call to Action". It is an initiative that Physicians for Human Rights has been involved in with our partner organization, Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC). The statement, which has already received the endorsement of many domestic and international nursing organizations, will be released at the Mexico City International AIDS Conference next week.

Far too often health providers lack the basic means to protect themselves and their patients from preventable infectious diseases. This statement calls attention to the need for workplace health and safety measures for nurses and health care workers around the world. We will seek meetings with the leadership of PEPFAR and the Global Fund during the International AIDS Conference to present the final document and request a public commitment to implement it in all programs.

We hope that through this Statement, national and local nursing and health worker organizations around the world will be enabled to more effectively demand occupational health and safety measures. Please add your name to this Call to Action!