Today's Out Spotlight is highlight the effort for Uniting the World against AIDS
These are the goals of the World Health Organization, UNAIDS project and UNICEF in the Universal Access for HIV/AIDS Worldwide.
Towards universal access: Scaling up priority HIV / AIDS interventions in the health sector is the second in a
series of annual progress reports developed by WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF to monitor the health-sector
response to HIV / AIDS. It documents health-sector progress towards:
• Treatment and care, including antiretroviral therapy (ART), management of HIV/TB co-infection and
other co-morbidities;
• HIV testing and counselling;
• Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), in health care settings, and of sexual HIV
transmission and transmission through injecting drug use;
• Health systems issues, including drug procurement and supply management, human resources and
health information.
The Epidemic is still here we are doing better, but better is not good enough.
The AIDS epidemic today
An estimated 33 million people [30.3 – 36.1 million] were living with HIV in 2007. There
were 2.7 million [2.2 – 3.2 million] new HIV infections and 2 million [1.8 – 2.3 million]
AIDS-related deaths last year.
The rate of new HIV infections has fallen in several countries, but globally these
favourable trends are at least partially offset by increases in new infections in other
countries.
Globally, women account for half of all HIV infections—this percentage has remained
stable for the past several years.
The global percentage of adults living with HIV has levelled off since 2000. In virtually all
regions outside sub-Saharan Africa, HIV disproportionately affects people who inject
drugs, men who have sex with men and sex workers.
Support and participation is still needed.
- Support with your giving of both time and money
- Speak with your vote
- Seek information about what going on.
While we have made strides in HIV prevention and treatment, there is still no cure for AIDS.
No matter how many celebrities and physicians and health workers and organizations speak out about this and what needs to be done, it starts with you. You are the only person that is in control of your future. Practice safe sex, find out out about your sexual partners, and get tested. Remember you are in charge of your life. The decisions you make are yours alone. It starts with you, your life and your impact.
