Tag Archives: Health

Surgery and Sunshine

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I was offline for a few days in March, an interesting experience especially during the time of crisis in the UK. It was my birthday on the 18th and I celebrated by returning to South Africa on the 16th for a series of elective medical procedures. I took the 06h15 KLM flight from Norwich to Amsterdam where I connected on the 10h15 flight to Johannesburg. The journey takes nearly 11 hours. My case was one of the first to be unloaded and appear on the carousel, these little things matter.

There are no connecting flights to Durban that late. My standard operating procedure is to stay in a hotel at the airport and connect the next day. Normally the travel agent’s opening proposal for the connection is a plane at an absurdly early hour, 07h00 for example. On this trip I was sensible and got a flight a little after 13h00. It allowed me ample time to sort myself out, and have a leisurely breakfast.

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A Response to ‘Experts want African aid funds channelled away from HIV’

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I was quoted in a recent article which appeared in the Observer and published on guardian.co.uk However, the news article bears little resemblance to the headline, which I find sensational and does not reflect my views as I emphasised that AIDS spending is crucial “for those already on or requiring treatment”.

Click here to read the news story and here for my official response.

AIDS, Security And Conflict Initiative

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Alan Whiteside, will be a discussant at the HIV/AIDS Security and Conflict Initiative: A Briefing and Discussion, to be held 21 September, 2009 at the Hague.

The event marks the release of the new report, “HIV/AIDS, Security and Conflict: New Realities, New Responses.” The results of 29 global research studies on HIV/AIDS and fragile states, uniformed services, humanitarian crises and post-conflict transitions will be presented and discussed.

When: September 21, 2009, 11:30 – 16:00
Where: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bezuidenhoutseweg 67, The Hague De Oude Perszaal 00C 33
Presenters and Discussants: Alex De Waal, Georg Frerks, Charlotte Watts, Manuel Carballo, Anyieth D’Awol, and Pamela De Largy
Contact: Georg Frerks, + 31 (0) 30 253 6549, g.frerks@uu.nl