According to UNAIDS estimates, there are 38 million adults and 2.3 million children living with HIV, and during 2005 some 4.9 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.
Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.
Started in 1988, World AIDS Day is not just about raising money, but also about increasing awareness, education and fighting prejudice. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.
The theme for World AIDS Day
For many years, World AIDS Day has been organised by UNAIDS, who have chosen the theme after consultation with other organisations. However, in 2005 UNAIDS handed over responsibility for World AIDS Day to an independent organisation known as The World AIDS Campaign (WAC).
The WAC’s theme for their campaign is "Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise". This theme is however not specific to World AIDS Day alone but to the work the WAC does throughout the year. It will also remain the focus until 2010.
This change in the way that World AIDS Day is organised has caused some confusion among HIV & AIDS organisations. Some have chosen to adopt “Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise” as their theme for World AIDS Day 2005. Others have, for the first time, picked their own topic for the events they’re holding this year on 1st December. Whatever you decide to do for World AIDS Day however, the most important thing is that you follow its basic principals by raising awareness and understanding where you live and by remembering the millions living with HIV or suffering because of AIDS.
Links:
http://www.un.org/events/aids/2005/index.html
http://www.unaids.org
http://www.worldaidscampaign.org
http://www.worldaidsday.com/
On a related note...
Swaziland cancels World AIDS Day events
Last Updated Thu, 01 Dec 2005 12:32:20 EST
CBC News
As countries around the world mark World AIDS Day with marches and educational campaigns, the king of a country with one of the world's highest HIV infection rates has cancelled all events marking the day.
In a royal decree, Swaziland's King Mswati cancelled the AIDS Day events, saying they would interfere with a month-long traditional ceremony.
Approximately 38 per cent of adults in Swaziland are HIV-positive. That's believed to be the world's highest rate of HIV infection.
As king of one of Africa's poorest nations, Mswati has been criticized for his lavish lifestyle and multiple wives. The 37-year-old king this year selected his 13th wife, and is about to become a father for the 25th time.
In South Africa, where as many as five million people have been diagnosed with HIV, the country's health minister used the day to promote the use of home-grown remedies.
Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang told an audience in Durban that they should eat lots of vegetables and garlic, for its anti-fungal properties.
She's been called "Dr. No" for her reluctance to support the use of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, which have been shown to prolong the lives of HIV/AIDS patients.
The United Nations says more than half of the 40 million people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, live in Africa.
The spread doesn't appear to be slowing down, either, with 3.2 million of the 5 million new HIV infections recorded in 2005 showing up in Africa.
Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe have brought their rates of HIV infection down through educational and condom campaigns.
New HIV epidemics on horizon
Dr. Mark Wainberg, director of Montreal's McGill University AIDS Centre.
Without better access to cheaper ARV drugs, activists and health workers predict massive HIV epidemics will erupt in other parts of the world, including:
- India, where more than 5 million people have HIV.
- China, where the government says more than 800,000 people have HIV.
- Eastern European countries such as Russia and Ukraine, with 800,000 and 500,000 HIV cases.
- Indonesia
- Pakistan
- Thailand
Dr. Mark Wainberg, the director of Montreal's McGill University AIDS Centre, said the focus must remain on prevention because there is no cure in sight.
"We don't know how to eradicate the virus from the body that is infected," said Wainberg. "A cure is not yet within our realm."
Roughly 25 million people have died from AIDS since it was first recognized in 1981.
UNAIDS, the United Nations agency that studies and monitors HIV/AIDS, estimates $15 billion will be needed in 2006 to combat the disease.
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