World AIDS Day – December 1, 2011
Posted Dec.01, 2011 in AIDS, Health & Wellness, HIV, News
World AIDS Day began in 1988 and is observed December 1 each year with the purpose is to raise awareness of the AIDS caused by the spread of HIV infection. It is recognized by political figures and health officials worldwide. On November 8th, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke about her goal for an “AIDS Free Generation”. You can view this speech by visiting PEPFAR or by clicking here to go directly to the video. Since 1995, the President of the United States has given an official speech on World AIDS Day. To read the proclamation that President Barack Obama gave earlier today, click here.
This year the theme for World AIDS Day 2011 is ‘Getting to Zero’. According to unaids.org, this year the global community has committed to focusing on achieving 3 targets: “Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths”. With stats like the following ones from unaids.org, it is crucial that we increase our awareness and seek out what we can do as individuals to help.
At the end of 2010 an estimated:
- 34 million [31.6 million – 35.2 million] people globally living with HIV
- 2.7 million [2.4 million – 2.9 million] new HIV infections in 2010
- 1.8 million [1.6 million – 1.9 million] people died of AIDS-related illnesses in 2010
On November 30, 2011, a report by the WHO, UNICEF and UNICEF and UNAIDS Global Report on the global HIV/AIDS response showed that having increased access to HIV services resulted in a 15% reduction of new infections over the past decade and a 22% decline in AIDS-related deaths in the past five years.
“It has taken the world ten years to achieve this level of momentum,” says Gottfried Hirnschall, Director of WHO’s HIV Department. “There is now a very real possibility of getting ahead of the epidemic. But this can only be achieved by both sustaining and accelerating this momentum over the next decade and beyond.”
The report highlights what steps have been working to combat AIDS:
- Improved access to HIV testing services enabled 61% of pregnant women in eastern and southern Africa to receive testing and counseling for HIV – up from 14% in 2005.
- Close to half (48%) of pregnant women in need receive effective medicines to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in 2010.
- Antiretroviral therapy (ART), which not only improves the health and well-being of the infected people but also stops further HIV transmission, is available now for 6.65 million people in low- and middle-income countries, accounting for 47% of the 14.2 million people eligible to receive it.
The report brings out what steps still have to be taken:
- More than half of the people who need antiretroviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries are still unable to access it. Many of them do not even know that they have HIV.
- Despite the growing body of evidence as to what countries need to focus on to make a real impact on their epidemics, some are still not tailoring their programmes for those who are most at risk and in need. In many cases, groups including adolescent girls, people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, prisoners and migrants remain unable to access HIV prevention and treatment services.
Other sites to visit to learn more about World Aids Day and what you can do to help:
http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/
http://www.avert.org/world-aids-day.htm
http://www.youtube.com/theonecampaign
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Tags: AIDS, awareness, campaign, Education, funding, HIV, prevention, World AIDS Day










