By AIDS.gov Karen Walker Through the Facing AIDS photosharing initiative, you and your community can join the thousands of Americans who are helping reduce stigma and promote HIV testing by putting a face to AIDS for World AIDS Day (December 1) and beyond. Karen Walker, a nurse and a mother, wrote this powerful description of why she is Facing AIDS as part of the AIDS.gov Facing AIDS anti-stigma photo initiative. Why do I Face AIDS By Karen Walker I face AIDS because of my life … [Read more...]
Children Front and Center in the Response to HIV/AIDS
September 25, 2012 by
This week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, world leaders are coming together to move the world’s health and development agenda forward. Among the key agenda items is securing a better future for children — which is also a central focus of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Meeting the needs of children, including both children living with HIV and those affected by the disease in other ways, is not peripheral to PEPFAR’s mission — it is … [Read more...]
UGANDA, “Option B+” prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, (PMTCT)
September 15, 2012 by
KAMPALA, September 2012 (PlusNews) - The government of Uganda has launched the UN World Health Organization's (WHO) "Option B+" to boost the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT). Uganda currently uses a PMTCT system similar to WHO's Option A, which involves single-dose antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for the mother - if her CD4 count, a measure of immune strength, is over 350 - from the 14th week, as well as ARVs during labour, delivery and one week post-partum. Pregnant women … [Read more...]
Natural Disasters and People Living with HIV and AIDS
September 5, 2012 by
Hurricane Isaac’s impact on the Gulf Coast last week, ongoing forest fires in several Western states, and today’s earthquake in Costa Rica are all reminders of the importance of disaster preparedness, especially for people living with HIV/AIDS. In recognition of September’s observance of National Preparedness Month, we’re re-posting this blog entry from May 2011. Read more about National Preparedness Month from the Department of Homeland Security and the CDC. As if the tornadoes that recently … [Read more...]
“A picture is worth a thousand words”: Photo Sharing at AIDS 2012
September 4, 2012 by
Let's Stop HIV Together and Facing AIDS at AIDS 2012 This Labor Day, like many Americans, I spent time with friends and family and took photos that I shared with my mobile phone. Today, sharing photos on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram (we’ll write more about Instagram in a future post) offers an easy opportunity to share information about yourself and causes you care about with your social network. In the HIV community, photo sharing campaigns provide a means to mobilize around … [Read more...]
Ethiopia, HIV-positive mothers deliver babies free of the virus
August 4, 2012 by
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, August 2012 – Adanech* rushed to the Saris Health Centre in Addis Ababa when her labour pains started. Because of an effective mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme at the health centre, supported by UNICEF and its partners, Adanech has an excellent chance of having her wish come true. Like every mother in the world, she hoped to deliver a healthy baby. But Adanech is HIV positive, and without appropriate care, she could pass on the virus to her … [Read more...]
Ethiopia: HIV+ Mother Pulls Family Back from Brink
August 2, 2012 by
With the help of WFP's food support and livelihood assistance programmes, Belaynish Dabe and her HIV-positive husband no longer struggle to feed themselves and their children. WFP's food support to people living with HIV helps ameliorate the double burden of lack of income and deteriorating health. DEBRE ZEIT--Belaynish Dabe, an HIV-positive mother of six children, used to struggle to feed herself and her children due to a lack of regular income. She grew only maize, which she could … [Read more...]
Addressing violence against women is fighting HIV/AIDS
August 1, 2012 by
At the International AIDS Conference (IAC) held in Washington, DC, on 22–27 July 2012, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, managed by UN Women on behalf of the UN system, turned the spotlight on the inextricable link between HIV and violence based on gender. Meryem Aslan presents policy paper on “Effective Approaches to Addressing the Intersection of Violence against Women and HIV/AIDS.” This issue was the focus of a panel discussion cosponsored by UN Women and the World … [Read more...]
AIDS 2012 offers hope, new responses | Emilie Pradichit & Mandeep Dhaliwal
July 31, 2012 by
Washington — Science suggests an AIDS-free generation is within reach. We must reflect on lessons and human rights struggles of the last three decades of the AIDS response if we are to do better in delivering the best that science and innovation can offer to those most in need. More than 8 million people with HIV in poor and middle-income countries received AIDS medications last year, up from 6.6 million in 2010. Nearly 60 percent of the 1.5 million pregnant women living with HIV in … [Read more...]
AIDS FREE GENERATION by 2015
July 28, 2012 by
Every generation is known for something. Let's be the one that delivers an AIDS FREE GENERATION by 2015. Every day 1,000 babies are born with HIV. By 2015, that number could be near zero. Add your voice to (RED) and ONE's digital (2015)QUILT - pictures and pledges from people all over the world who are joining the fight for an AIDS FREE GENERATION by 2015. Join Hugh Jackman, Coldplay, Josh Groban, Jane Lynch, and many others on the (2015)QUILT. The beginning of the #endofAIDS starts with … [Read more...]
UN Women amplifies women’s voices at the International AIDS Conference
July 24, 2012 by
At the upcoming International AIDS Conference (IAC) held in Washington D.C (22 – 27 July) , UN Women aims to give visibility and amplify the voice of women, in particular women living with HIV. Held every two years, the IAC is the world’s largest conference on HIV and plays a fundamental role in shaping the global response to HIV and in keeping HIV and AIDS on the international political agenda. At this year’s Conference, UN Women will for the first time attend as an official co-sponsor of … [Read more...]
