The 20th anniversary 0f word AIDS Day

1 December 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day.

1 December 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. Since 1988, efforts made to respond to the epidemic have produced positive results, however, the latest UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic indicates that the epidemic is not yet over in any part of the world.

Together with its partners, the World AIDS Campaign set this year’s theme for World AIDS Day as “Lead – Empower – Deliver”, building on last year’s theme of “Take the Lead”. Designating leadership as the World AIDS Day theme for 2007 – 2008 provides an opportunity to highlight both the political leadership needed to fulfill commitments that have been made in the response to AIDS – particularly the promise of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010 – and celebrating the leadership that has been witnessed at all levels of society.

As in previous years, the World AIDS Campaign has produced a wide variety of campaign materials to be used by individuals and organizations that want to campaign on World AIDS Day and host commemorative events. These materials are available on the World AIDS Campaign web site at www.worldaidscampaign.org. The web site also has a calendar of events where organizations are encouraged to list information on their planned activities for World AIDS Day.

The concept of a World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. Since then, every year UN agencies, governments and all sectors of civil society worldwide join together to campaign around specific themes related to AIDS.

World AIDS Day 2008:LEAD-EMPOWER-DELIVER

03/06/2008 9:07 am

Leadership is the theme for World AIDS Day 2007 and 2008, promoted with the campaigning slogan, “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.”

Leadership encourages leaders at all levels to stop AIDS. Building on the 2006 theme of accountability, leadership highlights the discrepancy between the commitments that have been made to halt the spread of AIDS, and actions taken to follow them through. Leadership empowers everyone – individuals, organisations, governments – to lead in the response to AIDS.

In 2007, people around the world were encouraged to take the lead to stop AIDS. Campaigns took the shape of marches, leadership discussions, public awareness events and pledges from leaders. These events all helped to put leadership in the spotlight.

People have offered their leadership – now it is time to deliver. Promises must be kept, and people must feel empowered to act.

Why is 2008 important?

2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. Since 1988, the face and response to AIDS has greatly changed. While many of these changes are positive, this anniversary offers us an opportunity to highlight how much more still needs to be done.

For example:

• Leaders in most countries from around the world now acknowledge the threat of AIDS, and many have committed to do something about it. As of 2007, nearly all countries have national policies on HIV. However, despite these policies, most have not been fully implemented and many lack funding allocations.
• While treatment for HIV and AIDS has improved and become more widespread since 1988, many still do not have access to it – in 2007 only 31% of those in low- to middle-income countries who need treatment received it.
• Despite HIV awareness now reaching nearly all areas of the globe, infection rates are still happening 2.7 times faster than the increase in number of people receiving treatment.
• While the number of countries protecting people living with HIV continue to increase, one third of countries still lack legal protections and stigma and discrimination continues to be a major threat to universal access.
• More broadly, real action on HIV and AIDS and human rights remains lacking. Legal barriers to HIV services still exist for groups such as women, adolescents, sex workers, people who use drugs, and men having sex with men, and programmatic responses promoting HIV-related human rights have yet to be prioritised.

World AIDS Day began in 1988 when health ministers from around the world met and agreed on the concept of the day as an opportunity for all of us to come together to demonstrate the importance of AIDS and show solidarity for the cause. In 2008, this underlining principle of solidarity and awareness remains the same.

We have only two years to go for “the goal of universal access to comprehensive prevention programmes, treatment, care and support by 2010”[1].”

To achieve this goal, leadership and action is needed now. Governments must deliver on the promises they have made. Communities must encourage leadership of its members. Individuals must feel empowered to access treatment, to know their rights and take action against stigma and discrimination, and to know and use methods of prevention against receiving and transmitting HIV.

About the Campaign

The world must take urgent account of the specific impact of AIDS on children, or there will be no chance of meeting Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6 – to halt and begin to reverse the spread of the disease by 2015. Failure to meet the goal on HIV and AIDS will adversely affect the world’s chances of progress on the other MDGs. The disease continues to frustrate efforts to reduce extreme poverty and hunger, to provide universal primary education, and to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health.

World leaders, from both industrialized and developing countries, have repeatedly made commitments to step up their efforts to fight the spread of HIV and AIDS. They are beginning to increase the political leadership and the resources needed to fight the disease. Significant progress is being made in charting the past and future course of the pandemic, in providing free antiretroviral treatment to those who need it, and in expanding the coverage of prevention services.

But children are still missing out.

In 2007

• 420,000 children were newly infected with HIV

• 290,000 children died of AIDS

• Children under 15 accounted for 2.1 million of the estimated 33.2 million people living with HIV

Millions of children, adolescents and young people in the path of the pandemic are at risk and in need of protection. AIDS is redefining the very meaning of childhood for millions, depriving children of many of their human rights – of the care, love and affection of their parents; of their teachers and other role models; of education and options for the future; of protection against exploitation and abuse.

The world must act now, urgently and decisively, to ensure that the next generation of children is AIDS-free.

The UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign will

• Provide a child-focused framework for nationally owned programmes around the ‘Four Ps’, urgent imperatives that can make a real difference in the lives and life chances of children affected by HIV/AIDS.

  • Prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission
    By 2010, offer appropriate services to 80 per cent of women in need
    
  • Provide paediatric treatment
    By 2010, provide either antiretroviral treatment or cotrimoxazole, or both, to 80 per cent of children in need
    
  • Prevent infection among adolescents and young people
    By 2010, reduce the percentage of young people living with HIV by 25 per cent globally
    
  • Protect and support children affected by HIV/AIDS
    By 2010, reach 80 per cent of children most in need

• Provide a platform for child-focused advocacy on global AIDS issues such as

  • Mobilizing international resources to combat HIV/AIDS. This means not only a significant increase in official development assistance overall, but also a bigger proportion allocated to HIV and AIDS and, specifically, to protect, care for, support and provide treatment for children affected by the disease.
    
  • Supporting corporations as they develop socially responsible policies and programmes for workers, their children and communities.
    
  • Advocating for governments, donors and international and non-governmental organizations to stand by the commitment to come as close as possible to the goal of universal access to treatment by 2010; and supporting countries in accessing appropriate and affordable medicines, especially formulations and diagnostics adapted to the specific needs of children.
    
  • Campaigning for education and health services to be strengthened, and for governments and agencies to work towards the elimination of user fees for primary education and, where appropriate, health-care services.
    
  • Putting the protection, care, support and treatment of children, adolescents and young people at the centre of the HIV and AIDS agenda.

• Put the missing face of children affected by AIDS at the centre of the AIDS agenda and make sure that the voices of children and young people are heard on the issues that affect them.

Following the appeals made at the 2005 G-8 Summit, the 2005 World Summit, and other declarations and commitments on HIV and AIDS, UNICEF, as part of its work as a cosponsoring agency of UNAIDS, calls upon every part of global society to join in a campaign to support national efforts to ensure that this is the last generation of children that must bear the burden of AIDS.

Peer Educator Pandaan

Penjangkauan yang dilakukan di area pandaan pada sebaya setingkat SMA sangat menarik, karena kebanyakan peserta yang mengikuti sosialisasi tersebut rata-rata memiliki antusias yang sangat besar, ini terlihat dari flasback dan respon yang di perlihat dalam forum dengan banyak pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang sama sekali tidak pernah kami duga dan tidak pernah terpikir sama sekali oleh kami selaku pemberi informasi.

Pada acara tersebut juga kami banyak menemukan cerita dari peserta tentang teman-temannya yang memiliki perilaku yang yang berisiko terkena dan tertular HIV and AIDS.

Salah satu peserta penjangkauan yang melakukan diskusi dengan temannya terkait masalah teman-teman mereka yang memilki kecenderungan untuk melakukan sesuatu yang berisiko tinggi tertular HIV and AIDS.
Banyak komentar yang mereka berikan setelah acara sosialisasi tersebut, rata-rata dari mereka meiliki kecenderungan dan respon baik terhadap program untuk memberikan penyadaran terhadap bahaya HIV dan menghibau agar tidak melakukan sikap yang meiliki risiko tinggo tertular virus tersebut.
Salah satu relawan kami memberikan pengetahuan tentang pengertian HIV dasar (pngertian HIV and AIDS, gejala, ciri2, cara penularan, cara pencegahan, sampai data2 dan sebagainya)
Dengan menggunakan media yang seadanya Ivan (relawan) mempesentasikan powerpointnya tentang HIV and AIDS yang ia dapat ketika pelatihan di lamcadika bangil dan hotel Lie Mas Tretes Prigen pada bulan Juli-Agustus 2008.

Peer Educator Purwosari

Puasa tidak menyurutkan semangat para relawan untuk melakukan proses pemberian informasi terhadap penjegahan dan penyebaran HIV and AIDS di wilayah Purwosari. Tyan salah satu relawan Pita Merah sangat antusiasnya dalam menyamapikan materi tentang penyebaran dan penularan HIV and AID serta ciri dan akibat dari virus tersebut.
Tidak kalah, begitupun peserta ssosialisasi tersebut sangat antusias dengan penuh semangat dan di barengi rasa takut dan prihatin terhadap penyebaran virus itu di pasuruan yang sangat cepat. berbagai tanya keluar dari para peserta yang selama ini masih belum tahu menahu tentang HIV serta ciri orang yang terinveksi virus tersebut. Selama ini mereka hanya dengar bahwa virus itu adalah virus yang mematikan tanpa ada kereangan informasi selanjutnya!
Setelah mengikuti sosialisasi tersebut peserta merasa lebih tahu dan bisa bersikap terhadap apa dan bagaimana cara pencegahan virus HIV tersebut, kemudian mereka juga tahu ciri dan dampak yang dihasilkan dari virus itu. Tidak hanya itu saja mereka juga di beri pengetahuan tentang bagaimana bersikap terhadap orang yang positif HIV, karena yang paling menyakitkan bagi HIV positif bukanlah virudnya melainkan perlakuan yang dilakukan oleh masyarakat sekitar.