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AIDSWatch

The Global Fight Against HIV/AIDS

	HEART Project	International Health Ministries: AIDS
	Articles on HIV/AIDS	HIV/AIDS Links
UNAIDS/WHO launch 2006 AIDS epidemic update The global AIDS epidemic continues to grow, say the latest figures published in the UNAIDS/WHO 2006 AIDS Epidemic Update. Disturbing evidence shows some countries with previously stable or declining new HIV infection rates are seeing a resurgence. However, declines in infection rates and positive trends in young people's sexual behaviors observed in other countries. According to the latest figures: An estimated 39.5 million people are living with HIV There were 4.3 million new infections in 2006 with 2.8 million (65%) of these occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Indications are that infection rates have risen by more than 50% since 2004 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In 2006, 2.9 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses.
Africa & World: HIV/AIDS Links www.pcusa.org/aids-international It's A Matter of Faith Africa stands to lose an entire generation to the AIDS epidemic that is sweeping the continent. In some pockets of sub-Saharan Africa, up to 20 percent of the population is infected with the virus that causes the disease. The crisis is cause for despair, but for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s African church partners it also is a matter of faith and a call to action. www.pcusa.org/phewa/pan The Presbyterian AIDS Network welcomes those who advocate and care for persons and families who have been infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. They encourage the Church to live out Jesus' ministry of love and justice. www.pcusa.org/nationalhealth Statistics show that in our churches and neighborhoods there are people living with or touched by HIV/AIDS. They want and need to talk, share and pray but don't know how to ask or even bring up the subject. It is important that congregations respond to meet those needs. www.mbfoundation.org www.ccih.org The mission of Christian Connections for International Health is to promote international health and wholeness from a Christian perspective. CCIH provides field-oriented information resources and a forum for discussion, networking, and fellowship to the spectrum of Christian organizations and individuals working in international health. www.e-alliance.ch The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance is a broad ecumenical network for international cooperation in advocacy on global trade and HIV and AIDS. www.africare.org Africare is a leader in aid to Africa, assisting families, villages and nations Africa-wide -- in food, water, the environment, health, emergency humanitarian aid, private-sector development and governance -- and with a special emphasis on HIV/AIDS. Africare now supports more than 150 self-help development programs in 28 nations of Africa. www.africaalive.org/youthaids.htm Africa Alive! Youth AIDS is a network of African youth organizations that promotes AIDS prevention and safe sexual behavior. www.care.org CARE uses educational television and radion messages, offer community education programs and informal discussion groups. and trains community promoters to educate others about ways to prevent HIV/AIDS transmission. www.childreach.org Childreach, US member of PLAN International, works to equip and empower community driven efforts to improve the health and well-being of children and families affected by AIDS. www.who.org The World Health Organization is the United Nations specialized agency for health. It was established on 7 April 1948. WHO's objective, as set out in its Constitution, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Health is defined in WHO's Constitution as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.		www.promise.org An Interdenominational Christian organization dedicated to three areas of ministry: 1) caring for orphans and widows through church-based orphans homes, 2) reaching the unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, 3) providing for needy children through feeding and nutrition programs, free schools and higher education and family assistance. www.wcc-coe.org The Ecumenical HIV/AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA)was set up in 2002 as a joint undertaking of African churches, Northern churches and agencies, and the World Council of Churches (WCC). EHAIA enables churches in Africa to gain access to the information, training, networks and funding they need to help deal with HIV/AIDS in their communities. EHAIA works to help churches in Africa become "AIDS-competent churches". www.allforyouth.org Empowering AIDS orphans and street children through partnership with innovative, grassroots programs in the developing world. www.churchworldservice.org Founded in 1946, Church World Service is the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry of 35 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations in the United States. Working in partnership with indigenous organizations in more than 80 countries, CWS works worldwide to meet human needs and foster self-reliance for all whose way is hard. www.data.org debt AIDS trade Africa. DATA aims to raise awareness about, and spark response to the crises swamping Africa: unpayable Debts, uncontrolled spread of AIDS, and unfair Trade rules which keep Africans poor. www.directrelief.org Direct Relief’s efforts focus on providing healthcare professionals with the necessary tools – pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, and equipment – to treat the secondary infections related to HIV/AIDS, supporting prevention education programs, and providing general healthcare services to persons infected with the disease and their families. Direct Relief is committed to supporting communities worldwide affected by this devastating disease www.globalaidsalliance.org The Global AIDS Alliance (GAA) is dedicated to mobilizing the political will and financial resources needed to slow, and ultimately stop, the global AIDS crisis and reduce its impacts on poor countries hardest hit by the pandemic. www.unaids.org UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, brings together the efforts and resources of ten UN system organizations to the global AIDS response. www.worldvision.org World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. www.kff.org Kaiser Family Foundation. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the nation. The Foundation is an independent voice and source of facts and analysis for policymakers, the media, the health care community, and the general public.
An Open Letter to the Presbytery from Bill Cox - July 23, 2005 Women in Southern Africa Struggle Against HIV Presbyterian Washington Office - Africa/Women and Families - January 2005 Twenty five years ago, early in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, women rarely figured among the infected. As the pandemic exploded, it has become clear that women are being infected and are dying because they are women. (Read More)
Ethiopia: HIV kills Over 100,000 Ethiopians in 2004 - Read Article
GLOBAL AIDS: Facing the Crisis Source: Church World Service The global AIDS crisis staggers our imagination. The scale of human loss undermines the social and economic fabric of entire nations, especially in Africa. At current rates, 100 million people worldwide will be infected by 2010. Of the 14,000 persons infected each day, 85% live in the developing world. Tragically, only 5% of people in the developing world who need lifesaving AIDS medications have access to them because they are too expensive, and/or trade laws restrict their importation. In Africa, over eleven million children have lost at least one parent to the disease, leading to an explosion in “child-headed households.” AIDS has wiped out as much as one quarter of the labor force in some African countries, creating economic havoc and fueling hunger. (Read More) The links between AIDS and hunger are chillingly simple. As farmers fall ill, their ability to plow, plant, cultivate, and harvest declines, leading to less available food. Food security is further threatened by the diversion of time, energy, and money to deal with the illness. As the family’s nutrition suffers, those who are HIV-positive are more susceptible to opportunistic infections. (Read more)
Ethiopia: HIV kills Over 100,000 Ethiopians in 2004 http://allafrica.com/stories/200501250478.html The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa) January 25, 2005 Posted to the web January 25, 2005 Dagnachew Teklu Addis Ababa *Meles Calls Upon Citizens to Create Self-Sufficiency* The alarmingly rising HIV/AIDS epidemic has claimed the lives of over 100,000 Ethiopians in the year 2004, government reports disclosed on Monday. The announcement was made public while the government launched a national HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Strategic Plan and Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) to tackle the spread of the disease in the coming years. The Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MOH) report launched in the presence of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi revealed that a total of 115,000 adults and children have died due to the disease in the year 2004 alone. The report said that some 90,000 adults and 25,000 children have died in the year 2004 due to the spreading epidemic in the country. "The cumulative number of people living with HIV is estimated at 1.5 million, with 95,000 of them being under 15 years of age. Since 2004, there are an estimated 105,453 and 27,226 new AIDS cases in the adult and children population respectively," the report stated. It also indicated that currently the national prevalence of HIV in the population was 4.4 percent. "The highest prevalence rate is found in the 15-49 age groups and particularly in urban settings, where the prevalence is as high as 12.6 percent, as opposed to rural settings where prevalence is approximately 2.6 percent and rising," the report said. Around 54.5 percent of the estimated 1.5 million people with HIV are said to be women while 96,000 are children under the age of 15. In 2003 alone, said the report, an estimated 114, 690 Ethiopians had died due to HIV/AIDS. About 265,358 People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) currently are in need of antiretroviral treatment where only two percent of them can afford to pay for ARVs and health care services. "In order to address these gaps and to prepare for rapid scaleup of ARV, the MOH has developed a guideline to help foster a flexible, creative and energetic response. The guideline is based on sound scientific and ethnical standards and promotes sustainability and equitable access to treatment," according to the report. It was also learnt that as of July 2004, 10,400 patients would receive ARVs throughout the country. Prime Minister Meles on his part has called upon every citizen to participate in the effort to create self-sufficiency and independency in the fight against HIV/AIDS. "Utilizing our constrained resources wisely and responsibly will better assure a sustainable fight against HIV/AIDS. I would like to affirm that the government will do its share and that it has already completed the necessary preparations and will remain committed in the fight against HIV/AIDS," Meles said. He said that the expansion of the strategic plan in all rural areas across the country has been started. "In the next three years, this plan will rollout to all the rural kebeles. There will also be a health center to serve a catchments area of 25,000 people. Training of health professionals that will be deployed in rural villages will be completed by 2008. A similar program will also be implemented in other pastoralist areas," he added.