It looks like Myanmar is the only country in Asia that Israel is 'helping' with HIV. Was circumcision training the only help offered? The [him] moderator supposes that HIV advice is better than arms sales.
[him] moderator
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Israel joins the UNAIDS effort in Africa
Friday, 02 December 2011 12:33
The Jerusalem AIDS Project is in the frontlines of the battle against the deadly virus.
Through Israeli circumcision operations, thousands of African men have improved their chance of reaching old age by 60 percent. This ancient Jewish ritual has proven to reduce the AIDS/HIV epidemic considerably, and Jewish Israeli expertise is transferring this public health tool to Africa.
Now a new agreement with the United Nations makes Israel an official “contributing nation” to the UN’s efforts to fight the deadly disease. Israel’s Health and Foreign ministries will earmark an initial fund totaling $250,000 toward a special task force called UNAIDS (www.unaids.org).
The agreement was signed in April by Aharon Leshno Yaar, Israel’s ambassador to UN institutions in Geneva, to battle an infectious disease that knows no political borders and has killed millions of people in Africa over the last 30 years. With lack of access to anti-viral medications, or refrigerators to keep the medication effective, African nations are overwhelmed by the rate of AIDS-related deaths, and the millions of orphans the virus has created.
This development exemplifies Israel’s commitment to providing foreign aid, and also gives credence to the work of hundreds of Israeli volunteers who have been educating South Americans in AIDS prevention for more than two decades, mainly through picture flashcard kits innovated by the non-profit Jerusalem AIDS Project (www.aidsnews.org.il).
A history of helping
Dr. Inon Shenkar, director of the Jerusalem AIDS Project, says Israel’s involvement dates from 1988, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs enlisted MASHAV (http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Mashav+%E2%80%93+International+Development/Activities/), its center for international cooperation, to work with the organization to implement AIDS education in Latin America, starting with Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Peru, and later on Argentina and Brazil.
“Israel’s Foreign Ministry paved the way for these countries to launch school-based education programs,” Shenkar says, citing his organization’s involvement in training according to the MASHAV model: Don’t give the hungry fish, but the skills so they can fish for themselves.
The programs became a resounding success, says Shenkar, and have become part of the national training programs in the respective countries.
Today, the Jerusalem AIDS Project is very active in Africa. While coordinated through the Israeli government, its work is made possible by donations. Shenkar says he is happy that the government has decided to fund the initiative in Africa, but millions more are needed to address the problem fully.
The Jerusalem AIDS Project has maintained its area of focus on education in African nations such as South Africa, Swaziland, Ethiopia and Uganda, and it recently ran a teacher training workshop in Myanmar.
What drives Shenkar is a desire to alleviate human suffering, but at the same time he is proud that the work of his organization helps to “rebrand Israel. To show we are much more than a country in conflict.”
Shenkar says he is constantly getting calls from backpackers asking for a copy of his flashcard kit. “They travel with it and do miracles,” he says.
http://boston.mfa.gov.il/index.php/en/news/75-aiding-the-developing-world/640-israel-joins-the-unaids-effort-in-africa
