INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH COALITION – World’s AIDS Day

For over 25 years, the International Women’s Health coalition (IWHC) has worked with women and young people across Africa, Asia, and Latin America to advocate for sexual and reproductive rights and health. Together, we have made significant strides: we’ve transformed policies, forged global agreements, and influenced global HIV/AIDS funding.This Thursday, IWHC staff in New York will celebrate Thanksgiving, and just six days later, people across the globe will observe World AIDS Day on December 1st. Clearly, now is a good time to give thanks to the courageous women on the ground who are making a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In Pakistan, IWHC supports Aahung, an extraordinary organization that increases access to quality sexual health services and education. From 2005-2008, Aahung trained nearly 50,000 service providers, educators, and young people who then reach hundreds of thousands more with information about HIV prevention and other vital health matters. And in Cameroun, IWHC’s longstanding support for the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa-Cameroun (SWAAC) has helped create widespread demand for female condoms, the only female-initiated HIV prevention method. SWAAC now distributes over 150,000 female condoms each year—and intends to generate even greater demand in the future. Watch this video to learn more. These are just two examples of the groundbreaking work our colleagues do day-in and day-out across three continents. Join us this week in thanking our partners for their tireless work against HIV and AIDS. Email your note to [email protected] by December 1 and we’ll send a package of thank you notes to our partners. Feel free to use the following text, or write your own: On this World AIDS Day, I feel hopeful that we will one day live in a world free of new HIV infections. That hope comes from knowing that your organization and many others are making strides that allow women and young people to protect themselves and stay healthy. I believe that a just and healthy life is every woman’s right, and thank you for your leadership on behalf of women and young people everywhere. The lives you have already transformed are proof that together we can make a difference.

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