Filed by Bil at 1:25 pm under Damn Hippies, Love, Social Issues

This World AIDS Day, I called in sick to the office. I don’t have AIDS, I just happen to be under the weather.

While I can’t do much about the syndrome itself, seeing as how I am not a research scientist, I can at least raise awareness and encourage prevention education.

Here’s how I do that:

Please read this article on World Aids Day 2009 from NPR’s news blog, The Two-Way. The article contains a brilliant summation of the current world AIDS situation from UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe.

If you’re too lazy to read the article, I’ll reprint the summation here, with some parts in bold (courtesy of me, because I like them):

On this World AIDS Day we are filled with both hope and concern.

Hope because significant progress has been made towards universal access. New HIV infections have dropped. Fewer children are born with HIV. And more than 4 million people are on treatment.

Concern because 28 years into the epidemic the virus continues to make inroads into new populations; stigma and discrimination continue to undermine efforts to turn back the epidemic. The violation of human rights of people living with HIV, women and girls, men who have sex with men, injecting drug users and sex workers must end.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on “all countries to live up to their commitments to enact or enforce legislation outlawing discrimination against people living with HIV and members of vulnerable groups”. On this World AIDS Day, let us work urgently to remove punitive laws and practices and put an end to discrimination against and criminalization of people affected by HIV.

On World AIDS Day let us also act on HIV prevention. For every two people put on treatment, five are newly infected. Too often prevention programmes are not reaching those most in need.

We can eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV. We can empower young people to protect themselves from HIV. We can stop violence against women and girls. We can protect drug users from becoming infected with HIV. And we can reduce sexual transmission of HIV.

Again, I would read the full article - it’s not very long, and it comes with some very useful and interesting links, including this one:

Google.org - World AIDS Day 2009

I hope it doesn’t seem cheesy to try to draw attention to the fight against AIDS just because it’s World AIDS day, but so what if it does? I’m pretty sure that’s what the day is for. The fight does not include just giving money to lab research. As much as this helps, what the world also needs is money for care and support to people who currently have AIDS, and education and prevention to see that HIV does not spread. It’s a long-term fight, so we need both immediate and short-term assistance. If you feel the urge to donate money to a good cause to fight the pandemic or volunteer some time, here are some personal recommendations: