exciting, informative, snarky, and very likely fabricated tales of life as an american expat in london

staying positive – 2009

by Jen at 5:55 pm on 1.12.2009Comments Off
filed under: rant and rage, world aids day

another year, another post about world aids day.

ribbon

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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