two and two makes five

Stop AIDS - Keep the Promise - Lead - Empower - Deliver (World AIDS Day 2008)

Today was World AIDS Day 2008. I'm not sure many people noticed. World AIDS Day happens every year on December 1, but I didn't hear much at all this year. I was happy that ServLife is responding and promoting action and advocacy... but enormously disappointed that World AIDS Day 2008 didn't show up on the top of Google News at all, and only briefly in my US news section, and then only related to politicians. Singer/trainwreck Britney Spears showed up on the top news section. So did football player Derek Anderson. And movie star Reese Witherspoon. But not World AIDS Day. 

I don't know about you, but I'm getting World * Day fatigue. It's always something's Day. So World AIDS Day passes mostly unnoticed. 

Also passing unnoticed today - the 6000 people who died from AIDS today. We also forgot about the 6500 African children made orphans by AIDS today. We didn't notice that 8500 healthy people contracted HIV today. And the 6000 who died yesterday, and the 6500 orphans from tomorrow, and the 8500 new infections last Wednesday - we forgot them too.

So let's stop for just a moment and listen - listen to the voices from around the world who are crying at the top of their lungs, "REMEMBER ME!" Every day is AIDS Day, but today may the world listen. And may we Lead - Empower - Deliver. May it be.

Loads of Links

Things I wanted to blog in 2007 but never got around to...

• Estimates of the number of people living with HIV/AIDS reduced by UNAIDS
• Out of bread in Zimbabwe
• Top 10 Environmental Blogs
• South Africa is a human trafficking "hot spot"
• South Africa is losing the battle against HIV/AIDS
• Sad story and shocking pictures of Burmese monks dumped in the jungle
• Quote: "I am both Muslim and Christian"
• One out of every five pregnant women in the Western Cape Province (South Africa) is HIV+
• Alcoholism and unethical business in South African wine country
• 101 Essential Blogging Resources
• Emerging Missions Agencies (the original)
• Emerging Missions Agencies (the response)
• A Brief History of "Economic Time"

That should keep you busy for a while.

Thabo Mbeki still "in AIDS denial"?

There is a lot to like about Thabo Mbeki and his leadership of South Africa. It seems likely that he will be remembered as having given strong leadership and direction to this fledgling democracy. But his record on HIV/AIDS is appalling. His support for (and encouragement of) his batty Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is disgraceful. And his most recent biographer is reporting that despite some shifts in South Africa's AIDS policy, Thabo Mbeki is still "an AIDS dissident." C'mon, Thabo. Make peace with reality. Your country needs you.

Some Good News in the fight against HIV/AIDS in South Africa

For the first time since 1990, there has been a statistically significant drop in HIV/AIDS prevalence rates. Women under the age of 20 showed a 2.2% decline in prevalence.

Good epidemiologists will tell you that this might be attributed to a variety of factors that don't actually mark a decrease in infection, but if this trend continues, there is reason for hope.

In 2006, 29.1% of pregnant women using public prenatal facilities were HIV+. In one district of KwaZulu-Natal, the prevalence rate was 46%. Overall, HIV prevalence among adults between 15 and 49 was estimated at 18.34 percent.

Things I Didn't Blog Part Four

How much do you know about President Bush's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)? If you were doing development work in Africa, you'd know a lot - including that like most big government programs, millions of dollars is unaccounted for. PEPFAR Watch is oneresource for helping hold the government accountable for your tax dollars.

A Week in Zimbabwe - Wednesday

All this week I'm in Marondera, Zimbabwe, with my wife and a friend from the UK. We're visiting a church that is caring for around 40 children whose parents have died and will be investigating the possibilities of partnering with the church to expand their care into the surrounding rural areas as a part of ServLife International's ministry in Southern Africa. This week's posts are small shocking facts about today's Zimbabwe designed to encourage you and your friends to learn more... and to do something.

Zimbabwe's life expectancy is the shortest in the world, with women expected to live only 34 years as of 2006. Between 2005 and 2006, that figure dropped by two full years, so today, life expectancy could be nearer to 32 years for Zimbabwean women. (Source)

Unposted Pictures - Day Twelve

I thought these signs were definitely picture-worthy when I came across them posted on the trees around a primary school in a Sudanese refugee camp in Northern Uganda. There were more, but we were in a hurry getting around to all of the schools to pay the school fees for the orphaned children ServLife is supporting.

Casual Sex in Botswana

The Washington Post is reporting that engaging in casual sex in Botswana is not a good idea. Too bad that few young Botswanans read the Washington Post.

HIV Vaccine Coming?

The first large-scale trial of an HIV vaccine is set to begin in South Africa, it has been announced.

We can only hope and pray. Today in the country of South Africa, more than 600 people died from AIDS-related causes.

South Africa has the most AIDS Orphans in the World

South Africa has more AIDS orphans than any other country in the world. Here are some facts from UNICEF:

• 15.2 million children worldwide have lost at least one parent to AIDS
Of those, 1.2 million are in South Africa. Bear in mind that this means there are 1.2 million AIDS orphans in a country with a population of 47 million
• A total of 2.5 million children under age 18 in South Africa have lost at least one parent to some cause - and 450,000 have lost both parents. That means that 1% of the total population are children under 18 with no living parents.
• More than 5% of the population of South Africa consists of children who have lost a parent to death.
• In South Africa, only 18% of HIV+ children needing life-prolonging anti-retroviral treament are receiving the drugs.
• Only one third of HIV+ mothers receive ARVs, and only a quarter of children born to HIV+ mothers receive treatment.
• ARVs for children cost $60 per year.