God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

02/20/2013 • 10:00 pm Comments Off on UNAIDS congratulates Mongolia for removing restrictions on entry, stay and residence for people living with HIV

UNAIDS congratulates Mongolia for removing restrictions on entry, stay and residence for people living with HIV

The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) welcomes the recent law reforms in Mongolia that have removed all travel restrictions and other discriminatory provisions for people living with HIV. The reforms which were passed by Mongolia’s Parliament in mid-December of last year took effect on 15 January 2013.

The Law on Prevention of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome removes all HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay and residence. Foreigners applying for visas to Mongolia are no longer required to disclose or provide documentation of HIV status.

“I commend Mongolia for taking this bold step and I hope this will encourage other countries to follow their example and move the world towards zero HIV-related stigma and discrimination,” said Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director.

UNAIDS advocates for the right to freedom of movement—regardless of HIV status. There is no evidence to suggest that restrictions on the entry, stay or residence of people living with HIV protect public health.

Mongolia’s reforms also removed employment restrictions that prevented people living with HIV from undertaking certain jobs, including in the food industry. The new law has also encouraged the creation of a multi-sectorial body comprised of government, civil society and private sector representatives to help put in place the reforms.

With the removal of Mongolia’s restrictions, UNAIDS counts 44 countries, territories, and areas that continue to impose some form of restriction on the entry, stay and residence of people living with HIV based on their HIV status. There are five countries with a complete ban on the entry and stay of people living with HIV and five more countries deny visas even for short-term stays. Nineteen countries deport individuals once their HIV-positive status is discovered.

 

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02/20/2013 • 8:11 am Comments Off on

This story shows that Africa is moving sometimes in the right direction. And it is good news for those working in the fields of HIV, AIDS and human rights.

 

Gillian Felix's avatarPlain Talk Book Marketing

Congratulations Swaziland, for your courage in banning a tradition that has been in your culture for centuries. Now the real challenge begins… enforcing the law.

The marriage of an adult man to an underage girl is known as kwendizisa in Siswati.

Swazi pic“Swazi men marrying girls once the girls enter puberty is not a customary law. It is not mandatory. It is tolerated because it has always been done. But times are changing, and Swaziland has the highest HIV prevalence rate in the world. This practice has added to the spread of HIV. It is a great victory for public health and for the rights of girl children that this outmoded practice must now end,” AIDS activist Sandra Kunene told IRIN/PlusNews.

Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku announced the government’s intention to enforce the Child Protection and Welfare Act by prosecuting men who marry underage girls.

Sexual activity with underage girls…

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12/03/2012 • 4:27 pm Comments Off on The day after…

The day after…

Graph showing HIV copies and CD4 counts in a h...

Graph showing HIV copies and CD4 counts in a human over the course of a treatment-naive HIV infection (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

… is a movie called trying to imagine the aftermath of a war with nuclear weapons.
The day after is also a feeling one get’s after the first of December every year. All speeches are done, all ribbons distributed and the press focuses again on other issues while the church hurries to prepare for Christmas. It leaves those working with HIV, living with HIV, struggling for treatment somehow in the limbo till next December, 1st…

But obviously it is not that bleak – and the there is a goal to reach – to cut down to zero new infections but to achieve this, there is a steep way in front of us. It requires all our energy on different levels:

Those in power must shift the money they spend of killing people to research, prevention and treatment; not only of HIV but also other medical and social conditions. It is indeed very much a disturbance to see that for warfare and the kill always money is at hand, while for humanity and the sake of those less fortune, there is always a fight. And the outcome is – compared to the expenses for war preparations – simply laughable. This has to change if we want to succeed.

Those living with the virus must make an effort to live responsible and being an advocate in their own rights. But obviously this can only happen if they have the tools and education to reflect on their situation with adequate knowledge.

There must be room for short and long-term interventions. Churches should stop putting devil and hell onto condoms as this comes as the safest intervention for those sexual active. Instead they can contribute towards long-term strategies of changing human habits. I guess nobody is fond of the idea of a 9-year-old boy having sex. Puberty is coming earlier – that’s also true. So what can we do to bring the ability to have sex and the mindset of responsibility together?

The Global AIDS Fund is the right tool to distribute donations and oversee progress in a global way. Government should stop contravening global efforts in bi-national agreements which put to rest the achievements of global negotiations and multinational agreements.

There is more to strive for and let’s put all our thoughts and energy together to make the world infection free for the start. So that World AIDS Day celebrates the victory of human civilization over a pandemic which threatened and killed millions of women and men, especially those on the more vulnerable side of life.

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11/30/2012 • 7:01 pm 1

 

This official words I found on another blog – noble words of an US American president.. let’s see the action to follow

 

D Gregory Smith's avatarFrom Eternity To Here

WORLD AIDS DAY, 2012

– – – – – – –

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

On World AIDS Day, more than 30 years after the first cases of this tragic illness were reported, we join the global community once more in standing with the millions of people who live with HIV/AIDS worldwide. We also recommit to preventing the spread of this disease, fighting the stigma associated with infection, and ending this pandemic once and for all.

In 2010, my Administration released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, our Nation’s first comprehensive plan to fight the domestic epidemic. The Strategy aims to reduce new infections, increase access to care, reduce health disparities, and achieve a more coordinated national response to HIV/AIDS here in the United States. To meet these goals, we are advancing HIV/AIDS education; connecting stakeholders throughout the public, private, and non-profit sectors; and investing…

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11/27/2012 • 8:29 pm 5

World AIDS Day around the corner

Once again it is short before World AIDS Day and as usual on such a day and before, the media and the politicians have their say about success and failures of HIV and AIDS treatment, prevention work, vaccine studies and all the rest. Once a year the world is made aware of the syndrome killing still scores of people and triggering despair, tears, hopelessness, desperation but also a willingness to fight and not to give up. Have we done enough in the time since the last World AIDS Day? Has research been successful in coming closer to a vaccine? Have fewer people been exposed to the virus? Is there more prevention willingness and treatment options in the global village? Well, according to UNAIDS yes, we have done major steps in the right direction, but we also know how close we are to fail millions of people because of lack of funding. The economic meltdown, the financial crisis, the Euro battle captures our minds and hearts and I wish one would worry as much about those suffering from HIV or TB or Malaria or any other of theses for poor people mostly life threatening diseases. While the USA and other Countries spend millions and millions a day for the war in Afghanistan or undercover in Syria or elsewhere research and the good thing s for live have still to struggle for funding. The world has indeed not learned the lesson of holding up the dignity of people, instead it pays for the destruction of land, people and material goods.

While I appreciate the progress and worry about the still high numbers of non-treated people and new infections, I cannot be silent about the injustice which is reflected in the battle against HIV and AIDS. And this pandemic is only an example that we are as human mankind still far away from getting the values right we proudly proclaim in our national constitutions: that life and dignity is to be protected at all times and all costs as it is the highest value we have.

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