May 29, 2006
UNimpressive on AIDS
As you wolf down your Boca Burgers, Tofu Pups, and PBR on this beautiful Memorial Day, take a moment to think about the soldiers lost over the centuries so you could do so without having to speak British English or German. And as you wearily head back to work this week, think about another fallen group – the 15 million that have died of AIDS since 2001.
While world leaders gather at the UN this Wednesday for yet another special session on the disease, a massive demonstration will be taking place in the streets outside. Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the first diagnosis of AIDS, thousands are expected to hit the streets on May 31st to protest a paltry effort by world leaders towards preventing and treating HIV. Gothamist Health remembers attendings in medical school talking about working in San Francisco in the early 80s and seeing patients who came into clinics with this strange disease pattern that no one knew anything about. While education and medical research have come a long way since, the 25 million new infections over the past 5 years say otherwise.
The event kicks off with a 1 pm rally at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (47th / 1st) with many renowned activists speaking, including actress Rosie Perez. This is to be followed by a 2 pm march to the UN missions of Uganda, India, Nigeria, and the US. Demonstrators will be clad in the famous anti-stigma “HIV-POSITIVE” t-shirts to stand strong with the 40 million HIV infected people around the world.
For more information visit ungassaction.org.
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stop sodomy. Here's a good science lesson for you. The penis is a vascular organ that's highly susceptible to disease. an anus is a hole full of shit. shit is waste and covered in infectious bacteria. Now if you put your penis in a hole full of shit and rub it inside for a good half hour it's gonna get you sick. Aids is preventable.
Marissa Predacon's scolding comments appear to be based on incomplete information. The HIV virus, not sodomy, is the cause of AIDS. Bacteria also are not the cause of AIDS. Transmission of HIV is more successful between penis and vagina, than from vagina to penis. While unprotected anal intercourse is a higher risk factor for HIV transmission, the majority of HIV infections in Africa are among women and have nothing to do with sodomy. Using a condom for both penis/vagina or penis/anus intercourse is very effective in preventing HIV transmission.
Further, very little feces (shit) are present in the rectum except when a bowel movement is happening. The rectum does harbor bacteria, but the bacteria in feces is not epecially harmful, though occassionally some straines are. Without the E.coli bacteria in the digestive track, we would die, it helps us digest our food.
Comments like Ms Predacon are indicative of the need for AIDS education. Without education, prejudices, not based in fact will enhance the transmission of the disease. Ms Predacon's comments are also the reason why we need more science education in schools.
1500 Rally and March to Demand World Action on HIV & AIDS
ACTUP - African Services Committee - American Jewish World Service
Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project - Gay Men‚s Health Crisis
Health GAP - Housing Works - New York City AIDS Housing Network
Positive Health Project - Student Global AIDS Campaign
OVER 1,500 AIDS ACTIVISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD DEMONSTRATE OUTSIDE
UN SPECIAL SESSION
Activists Converge on Meeting of World Leaders to Denounce Failed
Promises and Demand Universal Access to HIV Treatment and
Comprehensive Prevention
NEW YORK CITY, May 31 ˆ On the 25th anniversary of the AIDS
pandemic, thousands of
people living with HIV/AIDS and activists from around the world
marched and protested outside high-level United Nations meetings on
HIV/AIDS. Expressing outrage and disappointment that 15 million
people have died from AIDS since the UN meetings in 2001 where
leaders made commitments to fight the pandemic, activists demanded
leaders implement science-based HIV prevention and universal access
to AIDS treatment. In addition, 25 million more people have been
newly infected since 2001.
Activists from 5 Continents Take to the Streets
The diverse crowd of protesters, including members of civil society
delegations attending the UN meetings and many east coast AIDS
service organizations, participated in a rally emceed by actress
Rosie Perez, also an AIDS activist. Perez commented that, „People
living with HIV have a right to the treatment they need and all
communities have a right to effective prevention. It is enraging
that despite leaders‚ promises to provide this, we still have to
take to the streets to demand action on these issues.‰
Activists, in „HIV POSITIVE‰ t-shirts made famous in South African
campaigns to fight AIDS stigma and empower people living with
HIV/AIDS, marched through the streets of midtown Manhattan stopping
at the Missions to the UN of Uganda, India and U.S. They delivered
demands of civil society in those countries calling for increased
HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and care.
Activists: We Need Action Not Words!
Inside the UN, world leaders met to review progress on 2001
commitments and issue a political declaration outlining goals for
the coming years. But activists emphasized that actions speak
louder than words and questioned why the US delegation was led, not
by an elected leader or actual policy-maker, but by First Lady Laura
Bush. „We need a real action plan and funding promises to get drugs
into bodies and prevention tools to the people‰ said Waheedah
Shabazz-El of ACTUP Philadelphia. „Where‚s the $20 billion a year
we‚re going to need coming from in all these nice but empty
sentiments?‰
10 Million by 2010!
Prominent AIDS activists from five continents spoke at the rally and
highlighted the urgent need for vastly scaled-up access to
affordable HIV treatment and care programs. „There is broad
international consensus that we need to commit to 10 million people
on treatment by 2010 and that we need major new funding plans to do
that. It is inexcusable that some governments are currently
resisting this goal, especially in the wake of their failure to
meet the promise of 3 million on treatment by 2005,‰ said Sipho
Mthathi of the Treatment Access Campaign in South Africa.
The WHO estimates that today only about 1 in 6 people in need of
treatment have access. To reach this goal, activists are demanding
increased funding, policies that promote affordable generic drugs
rather than big drug company profits, and training and support to
scale-up the number of health care worker in shortage areas.
Real Prevention Demanded
Activists also focused on the need to implement science-based
prevention strategies, including female and male condoms and harm
reduction programs, that will be responsive to women, drug-users,
men who have sex with men, sex workers, and other vulnerable
populations. They criticized governments for neglecting these
groups and accused the U.S. government of enacting
highly-politicized and ineffective prevention policies. According
to Jodi Jacobson of the Center for Health and Gender Equity the
U.S. prohibits funding of proven public health strategies, such as
needle exchange, has dramatically increased funding for
abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, and supports policies that
foster discrimination against marginalized groups, such as sex
workers.
In one example of the outcome of such policies, the Uganda AIDS
Commission reports that the rate of new infections in Uganda has
nearly doubled since 2003. "As these data now confirm, Uganda's
once effective HIV prevention programs have been hijacked by
ideologically-driven religious groups that are largely supported by
U.S. dollars. These groups are anti-women and anti-condoms, oppose
teaching people about safer sex practices, and have fueled a
dangerous resurgence of stigma and discrimination against
HIV-positive persons," said Beatrice Were of Action Aid Uganda.
Activists decried similar ideologically-driven failures in US
domestic prevention. „Here in New York City, infection rates among
intravenous drug users declined by 80% in the 10 years since needle
exchange programs have been legalized yet many people throughout the
country are becoming needlessly infected as funding conditionalities
undermine prevention,‰ said Jason Farrell, Executive Director of
Positive Health Project.
Local and Global Failures Bring People To The Streets
This unique protest brought out people from as close as New York‚s
five boroughs and as far as Indonesia. Amos Hough of the New York
City AIDS Housing Network said, „Bush wants to be seen throughout
the world as compassionate yet here in the United States we have
people dying while they wait on lists for medications, and right
here in NYC AIDS is the number one killer among homeless people.‰
Joining him in the protest, Gracia Violeta Ross from Bolivia‚s
Network of People Living with AIDS commented, „We were here at the
UN five years ago demanding government action and we‚re still
waiting for leaders to act. We don‚t want to be here again five
years from now˜we demand real, universal treatment, prevention, and
care.‰
Background for UNGASS AIDS Issues
In 2001, world leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly Special
Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS to declare promises on scaling up
treatment and prevention to fight the pandemic. On May 31-June 2,
world leaders are again meeting at the 2006 UN High Level Meeting
on AIDS to evaluate the progress made towards their original goals
from 2001 and to declare new commitments to continue fighting AIDS.
In the five years since that original meeting, 15 million more
people have died of AIDS and 25 million people have been newly
infected with HIV.
A coalition of a dozen AIDS service organizations and activist
groups organized today's rally and march with the endorsement of
89 organizations from 37 countries who stand in solidarity on the
demands for universal access to all in need:
FUNDING
While recent years have seen increased funding, UNAIDS today
estimates a need for at over $20 billion annually by 2010 to meet
global goals.
TREATMENT
IN THE US over 1,000 individuals were on waitlists for HIV
treatment at the beginning of this year. According to one recent
report, half of all HIV+ people in the U.S. who need treatment are
not receiving it. (National Association of State and Territorial
AIDS Directors, 2006; Open Society Institute, 2006)
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD only 1.3 million individuals are
receiving antiretrovirals out of the 6.5 million in clinical need
of HIV treatment. (World Health Organization, 2006)
This summer the G8 leaders of the wealthiest countries in the
world committed to „as close as possible‰ to universal access to
AIDS drugs. According to projections, this will mean getting at
least 10 million people on treatment by 2010. (UNAIDS, July 2005,
p19)
Currently several countries are resisting committing to such a
target at the UN.
To achieve universal treatment access trade agreements and
procurement programs must promote production of affordable generic
medications, The Global Fund for AIDS, TB, and Malaria must be
supported with full funding and the U.S. government must fund a
comprehensive Ryan White Care Act, and governments must fund and
support minimum levels of 1 community health care worker per 1,000
residents. (Physicians for Human Rights, 2006)
COMPREHENSIVE PREVENTION
IN THE US 51% of new infections occur in African Americans though
they make up only 13% of the population. (CDC, 2006)
According to the UN Secretary General‚s report, a mere 9% of men
who have sex with men received any type of HIV prevention services
in 2005. Among people who inject drugs, fewer than one in five
receives HIV prevention serves. A condom was used on average in
only 9% of „risky‰ sex in the past year. (UN/Kofi Annan, 2006)
In 17 of 20 countries in receiving US PEPFAR funding,
abstinence-only earmarks in funding restricted the ability of
programs to respond to local prevention needs (US Government
Accountability & Oversight Office, 2006)
THE SPONSORING COALITION
for the AIDS 2006 Universal Access March & Rally:
- ACTUP - New York
- ACTUP - Philadelphia
- African Services Committee
- American Jewish World Service
- Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP)
- Friends of TAC - North America
- Gay Men's Health Crisis
- Health GAP (Global Access Project)
- Housing Works
- New York City AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN)
- Positive Health Project
- Student Global AIDS Campaign
ENDORSERS:
Accion Ciudadana Contra el SIDA - Venezuela
ActionAid International - International
ACTUP Austin - TX, USA
ACTUP East Bay - CA, USA
ACTUP Hellas - Greece
ACTUP Paris - France
Advocates for Youth - USA
Agua Buena Human Rights Association - Costa Rica
Africa Action - USA
Aid for AIDS International - NY, USA
AIDS Alliance in Nigeria - Nigeria
AIDS Foundation of Chicago - IL, USA
All Ukraine PLWH Network - Ukraine
Alliance Burundaise Contre Le SIDA - Burundi
American Medical Student Association - USA
AMSA, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine Chapter -
NY, USA
AREA (American Run to End AIDS) - NY, USA
Artists for a New South Africa - CA, USA
Asia Pacific Network of PLHA (APN+) - Thailand
Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers - Thailand
Asociación Información para Convivir con el VIH/
SIDA (INPACVIH) - Peru
Association de Lutte Contre le Sida - Morocco
AXIOS Eastern Orthodox Christian AIDS Ministry - NY, USA
Beijing AIZHIXING Institute - China
Blueprint for Action on Women and HIV/AIDS - Canada
Bolivian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (REDBOL+)
- Bolivia
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network - Canada
Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) -
USA
Center for the Right to Health - Nigeria
Citiwide Harm Reduction - NY, USA
Difaem - German Institute for Medical Mission -
Germany
Deep Griha‚s Integrated Service for HIV/AIDS - India
East European & Central Asian Union of PLWH
Organisations - Ukraine
EATG, European AIDS Treatment Group - Belgium
End AIDS Now! - International
Foundation for Integrative AIDS Research -
NY, USA
Friends of TAC - UK
GAT, Grupo Português de Activistas sobre
Tratamentos de VIH/SIDA - Portugal
Gestos- Soropositivity, Communication and Gender - Brazil
Global AIDS Alliance - USA
Global Network of People Living with HIV/
AIDS (GNP+) - Netherlands
Global Network of Sex Work Projects -
Hong Kong
Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS - USA
HEAL Foundation - Sri Lanka
Hispanosida - Spain
India HIV/AIDS Alliance - India
International Community of Women Living
with HIV/AIDS - UK
International Council of AIDS Service
Organisations (ICASO) - Canada
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission (IGLHRC) - International
International HIV/AIDS Alliance - International
Intersect Worldwide - International
Italian League for Fighting AIDS - Italy
ITPC Russia Project - Russia
Jamaican Network of Seropositive - Jamaica
Japanese Network of People Living with
HIV/AIDS (JaNP+) - Japan
John Mordaunt Trust - UK
KAIPPG International - RI, USA
Kenya AIDS Intervention Prevention Project
Group (KAIPPG) - Kenya
Lanka+ - Sri Lanka
Latin American and the Caribbean Council of AIDS Service
Organizations (LACCASO) - Venezuela
Latin American Network of PLWHA
(RedLa+) - International
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center -
NY, USA
LGBT Coalition - Ukraine
Middle East Children‚s Alliance - CA, USA
MATRAM, Mozambican Treatment Access Movement - Mozambique
National Association of People With AIDS - USA
National Forum of PLHA Networks in Uganda (NAFOPHANU) -
Uganda
One World Life Systems - NY, USA
Organization For Good Life of the
Marginalized (OGLM) - Uganda
Orphans of Rwanda - Rwanda
Oxygen Research and Development Forum - Nepal
Persia+ - Iran
Peruvian Coordination of People Living with HIV/AIDS
"Peruanos Positivos" - Peru
Physicians for Human Rights, Weill-Cornell Student
Chapter - NY, USA
PONY (Prostitutes of New York) - NY, USA
Positive Malaysian Treatment Access &
Advocacy Group (MTAAG+) - Malaysia
Pro-Choice Public Education Project -
NY, USA
ProGay - Philippines
Queers for Economic Justice - NY, USA
Red Venezolana de Gente Positiva (RVG+) - Venezuela
Rede Nacional de Pessoas Vivendo com HIV e AIDS (RNP+) -
Brazil
Solidarity & Action Against the HIV Infection
in India (SAATHII) - India
South Africa Development Fund - MA, USA
Stop HIV/AIDS in India Initiative - USA
Strategies for Hope Trust - UK
Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group (TTAG) - Thailand
Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) -
South Africa
Well Project - VA, USA
World AIDS Campaign - Netherlands
Don't you know the real story behind HIV/AIDS? Nature has a way to design viruses to weed out undesirables.
The world would be a better place if everybody would listen to me!
Later Losers!