Light to Unite: World AIDS Day 2006
I thought you may be interested in lighting candles on the 3rd Annual
Light
to Unite Website.For Every candle lit, Bristol-Myers Squibb will donate
$1
up to $100,000 to the National AIDS Fund. You can Find more information
and
light a candle at
https://www.lighttounite.org/.
For those who have know interest in lighting the candle then I believe
that
it may be of interest to know that UNAIDS has released its UNAIDS/WHO
Epidemic Update Report which states " The global AIDS epidemic
continues to
grow and there is concerning evidence that some countries are seeing a
resurgence in new HIV infection rates which were previously stable or
declining. However, declines in infection rates are also being observed
in
some countries, as well as positive trends in young people's sexual
behaviours. According to the latest figures published today in the
UNAIDS/WHO 2006 AIDS Epidemic Update, 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 and
important increases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where there are
some
indications
that infection rates have risen by more than 50% since 2004. In 2006,
2.9
million people died
of AIDS-related illnesses. New data suggest that where HIV prevention
programmes have not been sustained and/or adapted as epidemics have
changed—infection rates in some countries are staying the same or going
back
up.
In North America and Western Europe, HIV prevention programmes have
often
not been
sustained and the number of new infections has remained the same.
Similarly
in low- and
middle-income countries, there are only a few examples of countries
that
have actually
reduced new infections. And some countries that had showed earlier
successes
in reducing
new infections, such as Uganda, have either slowed or are now
experiencing
increasing
infection rates.
“This is worrying—as we know increased HIV prevention programmes in
these
countries
have shown progress in the past—Uganda being a prime example. This
means
that
countries are not moving at the same speed as their epidemics,” said
UNAIDS
Executive
Director Dr Peter Piot. “We need to greatly intensify life-saving
prevention
efforts while we
expand HIV treatment programmes.”
Marco Gomes
Regional Focal Point North America
marco@youthaidscoalition.org
www.youthaidscoalition.org
Toronto, Ontario Canada
+1-416-906-8392
livepositive.ca. (YPLWHA fight back!!)
If we leave the decision making to adult allies, then we will never
have our
time to shine. TIME TO DELIVER
