World AIDS Day

UK based site with information relating to Worlds AIDS Day and the campaign against AIDS - World AIDS Day is about keeping up the fight against HIV and AIDS. It's about supporting an estimated 36.1 million people across the world living with HIV. It's about the fact that over 8,000 people worldwide die from AIDS every single day. It's about fighting the prejudice faced by people living with HIV. It's about making people in power take action.

World AIDS Day (WAD) 2009 marks the end of the first phase of The AIDS Consortium's two-year long stigma reduction campaign - the HEROES Campaign. This campaign has profiled prominent people and respected community figures it boasts the likes of Justice Edwin Cameron (constitutional court judge), Tender Mavundla (musician), Anne Leon (consultant), Paul Mokgethi (Reverend), Mettah Nyathi (traditional healer) - all of whom are openly living with HIV and are the chosen advocates for this phase of the campaign.

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The 2009 World AIDS Day Stigma Summit brings together stakeholders from different sectors to actively participate and engage in the interrogation of the The HIV and AIDS Charter and how it applies to their different environments. The Charter is meant to educate the sectors on the rights of those living with HIV and AIDS.

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The current AIDS death rate of adults means that in just one year there are about 200 000 children who are orphaned.

The success of Lesotho's plan to increase access to HIV/AIDS treatment will depend on a national commitment to being tested for the virus and a R75 million (US 12.5 million) financial boost.

Thursday is the 18th annual World AIDS Day, a time for countless statements of concern and commitment from world leaders, thousands of commemorations and remembrances, and reams of statistics. One important article has already appeared on this page, by Jim Yong Kim, the highly respected director of the HIV-AIDS Department of the World Health Organization [Nov. 23].

Alarming Aids statistics revealing that South Africa has an HIV infection rate of 30 percent have seen sports heroes throw their muscle behind the red Aids ribbon campaign.

AIDS among infants, which only a decade ago took the lives of hundreds of babies a year and left doctors in despair, may be on the verge of being eliminated in the United States, public health officials say.

The World Health Organization welcomes the decision by the South African cabinet to approve a comprehensive HIV/AIDS treatment and care plan for the country. This is a vital step towards tackling AIDS in South Africa. This decision is a key contribution towards saving human lives and achieving the 3 by 5 target of treating three million people living with AIDS in developing countries before the end of 2005. This is a far-reaching decision which demonstrates that the South African government is ready to play a stronger role in meeting the challenge of treating millions of people living with AIDS in Africa, said Dr LEE Jong-wook, Director-General of the World Health Organization. WHO is ready to work closely with the government to support this effort. The plan approved by the South African cabinet is a comprehensive and integrated plan linking antiretroviral treatment with prevention of HIV infection and care for all those affected by HIV/AIDS. WHO strongly recommends that AIDS treatment, prevention and care be linked in an integrated approach. In several developing countries, the introduction of treatment programmes has had a catalytic impact. By providing hope for the infected and creating a powerful incentive for people to be tested and learn their HIV status, these programs have both reduced HIV-related stigma and accelerated prevention efforts. The South African plan reflects many of the key priorities for WHO in striving for the 3 by 5 target, including working closely with communities and particularly with People Living with HIV/AIDS. WHO is finalising a detailed strategy to reach the 3 by 5 target, which will be published on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2003.