it is once again world aids day.

this year, worldwide new infections continue to decline – hurrah!! and child-to-mother infections are declining as well – hooray! and with more people having access to anti-retroviral therapy, aids mortality is decreasing as well!

but as positive as all that news is, the flip side of that coin is that there are more and more people who are living with hiv, and living longer than ever before. this battle is far from over – funding is more important than ever to help ensure the downward trends continue, and that people living with hiv get the support and medication they need. there are still 10 million people who need anti-retrovirals, but aren’t getting them.

and it’s not just less well-off countries who are still fighting – in the u.s., the number of people living with hiv has grown 30% in the last decade. african-american women are 19x more likely to contract hiv in the u.s. than their white counterparts. and in 2007, the u.k. reported the highest ever number of new infections amongst men who have sex with men.

and we mustn’t forget that even with falling infection rates, hiv is still the number one killer worldwide of women of reproductive age.

we cannot get complacent!

there are 33 million people still living with hiv today.

you probably know one.

do something for them today.

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another year, another post about world aids day.

year after year, i write about the global aids statistics. year after year, they tell the tale of how this virus ravages those who are most vulnerable – the poor, the young, the weak.

this year, though, there is some good news mixed with the grim: although there continue to be more and more people living with hiv/aids, the global pandemic is officially in decline.

unfortunately, even in the face of some of the best news since this epidemic began, there is a very sobering statistic : the world health organisation reports that hiv is the number one killer worldwide of women of reproductive age.

that means all those public health policies that work to combat hiv/aids disproportionately affect women – they are policies about women’s health. women are more at risk for hiv/aids for both biological and sociological reasons, and there is “strong evidence of the link between gender based violence and hiv”.

and therefore the funding cuts looming in this shaky economy will disproportionately affect women, and threaten to undermine the hard-won gains that have been made.

now, more than ever, it’s important to keep fighting. after decades of campaigning and fundraising and marching and wearing ribbons, we finally have some progress to show for our efforts – we can’t allow it to backslide!

i’m going to try (again) to run the edinburgh marathon this coming may, and will be fundraising for the hiv/aids fight.

isn’t there something you can do? it makes a difference to so many.

2.7 million people were newly infected last year, and 2 million people died.

but where there is help, there is hope.

if 2 million is too hard to wrap your brain around, this year remember just one person.

and then do something for them.

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wow. can it really be a year since i last posted about world aids day?

this marks the fifth year running that i’ve posted about this day. and while in previous years, i’ve done stuff privately for the cause of hiv/aids, this year i asked all of you to help too, by sponsoring me for the royal parks half marathon on behalf of unicef’s “born free” campaign.

together we raised £500 to help fight the spread of hiv in the worlds most vulnerable areas. thank you so much again. and if you didn’t get a chance to contribute before, you can still do so.

i’d like to try to turn this into an annual thing – doing one public charity fundraiser a year for hiv/aids causes. i’ll let you know what i decide to do for 2009.

because in the meantime, aids hasn’t gone away. year after year, it only gets worse.  another 2 million people have died.

we can’t continue to watch it happen, and do nothing.

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last year, i shared these facts:

– there are more than 40 million people living with hiv and aids
– 23 million people have died
– global spending on hiv research is $3 billion
– u.s. spending on bird flu is $7 billion
– 8000 people per day die of aids
– in the minute it takes you to read this post, 5 people will have died
– in zimbabwe the hiv infection rate is 33% – that’s one in every three people
– more than a half million children died of aids in 2005
– if we continue on this way, there will be 45 million more infected by 2010.

another 3 million people died since i last posted those figures.
more than 15 million children are aids orphans.
2 million kids are living with hiv.
and india now has the largest hiv/aids population.

but really this year, there’s only one statistic you need to know:

this year, do something. anything. please. it’s unconscionable that we continue to allow this to happen.

donate. motivate. participate.

because every day is world aids day.

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hiv, aids, epidemic, statistics, world aids day

a few statistics:
there are more than 40 million people living with hiv and aids
23 million people have died
global spending on hiv research is $3 billion
u.s. spending on bird flu is $7 billion
8000 people per day die of aids
in the minute it takes you to read this post, 5 people will have died
in zimbabwe the hiv infection rate is 33% – that’s one in every three people
more than a half million children died of aids in 2005
if we continue on this way, there will be 45 million more infected by 2010.

i cannot believe it’s nearly 2006, and in spite of more than 20 years of research into the biggest epidemic this planet has ever seen, we still have no vaccine, no cure.

go give money. wear a ribbon. challenge the government. scream at the top of your lungs.

this is no longer acceptable.

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