WAC

1 December 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day.

1 December 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. Since 1988, efforts made to respond to the epidemic have produced positive results, however, the latest UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic indicates that the epidemic is not yet over in any part of the world.

Together with its partners, the World AIDS Campaign set this year’s theme for World AIDS Day as “Lead – Empower – Deliver”, building on last year’s theme of “Take the Lead”. Designating leadership as the World AIDS Day theme for 2007 – 2008 provides an opportunity to highlight both the political leadership needed to fulfill commitments that have been made in the response to AIDS – particularly the promise of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010 – and celebrating the leadership that has been witnessed at all levels of society.

As in previous years, the World AIDS Campaign has produced a wide variety of campaign materials to be used by individuals and organizations that want to campaign on World AIDS Day and host commemorative events. These materials are available on the World AIDS Campaign web site at www.worldaidscampaign.org. The web site also has a calendar of events where organizations are encouraged to list information on their planned activities for World AIDS Day.

The concept of a World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. Since then, every year UN agencies, governments and all sectors of civil society worldwide join together to campaign around specific themes related to AIDS.

Young leaders have innovative ideas about how to reach their peers.

Following UNAIDS calls for putting young people’s leadership at the centre of national HIV responses, a new small grants programme for youth-led organizations and projects, the HIV Young Leaders Fund, announced their request for proposals. The mission of the Fund is to enable new leadership in the AIDS response among young people who are most-at-risk and vulnerable to HIV and young people living with HIV.

“Peer-based programming is highly effective yet chronically underfunded and youth-led programs often lack support for core resources,” said Liping Mian, World AIDS Campaign Youth Campaign Coordinator and HIV Young Leaders Fund Interim Steering Committee member.

Globally, young people aged 15-24 account for 40% of all new infections and in 2008; at least 2 out of every 5 people newly infected with HIV were 15-24 years old.

As noted in its Outcome Framework: Joint Action for Results (2009-2011), UNAIDS has made empowering young people one of its priority areas. The goal in this priority area is to reduce the number of new HIV infections among young people (aged 10 to 24 years) by providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive knowledge, skills, services and commodities in a safe and enabling environment, tailored to the specific country and epidemic context.

Depending on the context, most-at-risk and vulnerable young people include young men who have sex with men, young transgenders, young sex workers, young injecting drug users, young women and young people living with HIV.

The Fund, administered by the Tides Foundation, will support youth led organizations and youth-led projects working on peer-based services, community mobilization, and advocacy. Organizations from all countries can apply for grants whose amount range goes from $1,000 to $30,000. The deadline for grant applications is May 1, 2010. Grant-making decisions will be made by regional community review panels composed of young leaders.

The new small grants programme is one of the recommendations from the 2009 aids2031 Young Leaders Summit that took place in Oslo in June 23 – 25. During the three day Summit, more than 30 young leaders from around the world worked together to identify pressing stigma and discrimination issues for young people and identify ways to leverage current strategies and collaborations.

To request grant materials in Arabic, English, French, Russian or Spanish, please e-mail HIVYoungLeadersFund@gmail.com

An Interim Steering Committee serves as the governing body for the HIV Young Leaders Fund in 2010. The following organizations are on this governing body: Global Network of Sex Work Projects, Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, GNP+’s Interim Reference Group on Young People Living with HIV, International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network, World AIDS Campaign, Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Y-PEER, Young Positives, and Youth R.I.S.E.

(from left) Allyson Leacock, Chair of the Steering Committee of World AIDS Campaign; Michel Sidibé, Exective Director of UNAIDS; Marcel van Soest, Executive Director of The World AIDS Campaign.
Credit: UNAIDS/O. O'Hanlon

AIDS presents a political opportunity to spark changes in society and talk about issues like human rights, homophobia and sex education according to UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé.

"You will never make a difference if you look at AIDS in isolation," Mr Sidibé said during his first meeting with the head of the World AIDS Campaign in Geneva.

Executive Director of The World AIDS Campaign Marcel van Soest said, “AIDS is a disaster beyond a health issue, it’s a human rights issue too.”

International representatives from a wide range of communities including The Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+) and The Global Unions AIDS Programme attended the meeting.

UNAIDS and the World AIDS Campaign reaffirmed their intention to put human rights and universal access to treatment, prevention, care and support at the centre of their campaigning agendas.

In addition to talks on how to help guarantee continuation of treatment, and to stop discrimination against people living with HIV participants looked at ways to invigorate campaigning at local and national levels.

 The 2009 World AIDS Day Campaign will be unveiled in Nairobi, Kenya early in June.

This year, World AIDS Day—that takes place
on December 1— will focus on leadership, the
theme set by the World AIDS Campaign under the
five-year slogan “Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise”.

With less than a month to go before this year's World AIDS Day, events to commemorate the day are being organized all over the world. This year, World AIDS Day—that takes place on December 1— will focus on leadership, the theme set by the World AIDS Campaign under the five-year slogan “Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise”.

World AIDS Day is a day when people from around the world come together within a single effort to raise awareness about HIV and to express global solidarity with people living with HIV. But World AIDS day is not just about raising awareness. It also provides a global opportunity to urge governments and leaders for all promises on AIDS to be kept as well as an opportunity to demonstrate commitment and action on AIDS.

In designating leadership as the World AIDS Day theme for the next two years (2007 – 2008), the World AIDS Campaign highlights both the political leadership needed to fulfill commitments that have been made in the response to AIDS – particularly the promise of universal access to treatment, prevention, care and support – and celebrating the leadership that has been witnessed at all levels of society.

In preparation for this year’s World AIDS Day, the World AIDS Campaign has produced a wide range of new materials to be used by people and organizations that want to set up their own events on World AIDS Day. These materials are available on the World AIDS Campaign Web site. World AIDS Campaign materials are intended to provide organizations who have limited resources with access to meaningful campaigning materials as well as enhancing solidarity within the global response to AIDS by working through a united effort.

The materials available consist of posters, leaflets and CD-ROMs in a number of languages, including French, Spanish, Russian, Swahili and English. Other language versions, particularly African languages, are also offered via electronic distribution. The printed posters and CD-ROMs can also be ordered from the World AIDS Campaign web site.

The web site also has a calendar of events where more and more organizations are now listing information on their planned activities for World AIDS Day so people can browse the different events planned in their country or region.

For the 2007 celebrations, the World AIDS Campaign has also produced, in collaboration with UNAIDS, a public service announcement on this year’s leadership theme that is being distributed to promote the day and/or can be shown during events.

UNAIDS founded the World AIDS Campaign originally as a loose partnership of UN agencies, governments and all sectors of civil society to campaign around specific themes related to AIDS. The World AIDS campaign is now an independent NGO based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and is governed by a Global Steering Committee of global constituency-based AIDS networks comprised of the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, the Youth Coalition, the Global Unions Programme on HIV/AIDS, the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, and the International Women’s AIDS Caucus. UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria are non-voting members.

"Leadership" has been chosen by the World AIDS Campaign as the theme for World AIDS Day 2007 and 2008. This theme will continue to be promoted with the slogan "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise."—the World AIDS Campaign (WAC) emphasis from 2005-2010.

On December 1 every year, the world comes together to commemorate World AIDS Day. The theme for World AIDS Day has been determined by the World AIDS Campaign since 1997.

“We know that significant advances in the response to HIV have been achieved when there is strong and committed leadership. Leaders are distinguished by their action, innovation and vision; their personal example and engagement of others; and their perseverance in the face of obstacles and challenges,” said the World AIDS Campaign. “Leadership must be demonstrated at every level to get ahead of the epidemic- in families, in communities, in countries and internationally.”

“Much of the best leadership on AIDS has been demonstrated within civil society organisations challenging the status quo. Making leadership the theme of the next two World AIDS Days will help encourage leadership on AIDS within all levels and sectors of society,” the Campaign added.

The 2007/8 theme of “Leadership” will build on the 2006 World AIDS Day focus on accountability, and was selected by the Global Steering Committee of the World AIDS Campaign during their meeting held in Geneva in February.

“We are still dying! Leadership requires that we face this reality. While scaling up of HIV care is now prioritized, it is under funded and poorly implemented,” said WAC Steering Committee Member and Chairperson, Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS Deloris Dockrey.

“Leadership can imply the power and authority to make a difference, to lead by action and example,” added fellow Steering Committee member and Coordinator for the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, Linda Hartke. “By taking on the global theme of leadership for World AIDS Day, faith leaders and the communities they are a part of can help articulate a vision, build relationships and take concrete action in solidarity with all people committed to reaching universal access for HIV prevention, treatment and care.”

The overall purpose of the World AIDS Campaign from 2005 to 2010 is to ensure that leaders and decision makers deliver on their promises on AIDS, including the provision of Universal Access to Treatment, Care, Support and Prevention services by 2010. Within that five-year mission, annual campaigning themes are selected which are timely, relevant and adaptable to a number of different regions and issues.

The issue of continued and increased leadership on AIDS and it’s importance to a long-term sustainable AIDS response was underlined by UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot at the European AIDS Conference held in Bremen, Germany on 12-13 March. “ Leadership makes or breaks the response against AIDS,” he said.

The Global Steering Committee of World AIDS Campaign is comprised of the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, the Youth Coalition, the Global Unions Programme on HIV/AIDS, the International Council of AIDS Service Organisations, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, and the International Women’s AIDS Caucus. UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria are non-voting members.

GENEVA, 23 September 2011— UNAIDS is deeply saddened by the sudden death of Marcel van Soest, a passionate AIDS activist committed to making the world a better place for people living with and affected by HIV.

“Marcel was first and foremost a true friend and an invaluable partner,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibe, “I was heartbroken to learn of this news. Marcel reached out to and changed the lives of many people across continents. The AIDS response has suffered a terrible loss with his passing and I mourn for his family and friends.”

Mr Van Soest worked for nearly 10 years with the international NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), including serving as the Operational Director of MSF Holland. In 2004, Marcel became the Executive Director of the World AIDS Campaign where he oversaw its growth from its origins at UNAIDS into one of the leading AIDS advocacy organizations worldwide and a major force for change in the global response to AIDS.  

Through his commitment to inclusiveness and focus on human rights, Mr Van Soest worked tirelessly to bring the voices of key populations to the fore front of the AIDS response, in particular those of sex workers, people who use drugs, women and men who have sex with men. Through his outstanding leadership, people everywhere respected his commitment and passion for making a better, more just world for people living with HIV and for making sure that the voice of the communities resonated in the global AIDS agenda.

NEW YORK, 16 June 2009 – Ahead of this year’s World AIDS Day, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the World AIDS Campaign and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) have come together to announce the theme of ‘Universal Access and Human Rights’.

The theme has been chosen to address the critical need to protect human rights and attain access for all to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. It also acts as a call to countries to remove laws that discriminate against people living with HIV, women and marginalized groups. Countries are also urged to realise the many commitments they made to protect human rights in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (2001) and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS (2006).

Speaking ahead of the announcement at the United Nations in New York, Michel Sidibé Executive Director of UNAIDS said, "Achieving universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support is a human rights imperative. It is essential that the global response to the AIDS epidemic is grounded in human rights and that discrimination and punitive laws against those most affected by HIV are removed.”

Many countries still have laws and policies that impede access to HIV services and criminalize those most vulnerable to HIV. These include laws that criminalize men who have sex with men, trangendered people and lesbians; laws that criminalize sex workers; and laws criminalizing people who use drugs and the harm reduction measures and substitution therapy they need. Some 84 countries have reported that they have laws and policies that act as obstacles to effective HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for vulnerable populations.

Speaking from Cape Town, South Africa, The World AIDS Campaign Executive Director Marcel van Soest said, “The epidemic has not gone away, tens of millions of people are still affected, but those hit the hardest, the poor and marginalised in society often don’t have a say when big decisions and laws are made. Their fundamental right to essential health care and life free from fear of stigma and discrimination must be strengthened.”

Governments continue to pass and enforce overly-broad laws that criminalize the transmission of HIV which are in direct contradiction to their commitments to “promote…. a social and legal environment that is supportive of safe and voluntary disclosure of HIV status.” Some 59 countries still have laws that restrict the entry, stay and residence of people living with HIV based on their positive HIV status only, discriminating against them in their freedom of movement and right to work.

At the same time, laws and regulations protecting people with HIV from discrimination and women from gender inequality and sexual violence are not fully implemented or enforced.

The organisation’s Chairperson, Allyson Leacock added, “The Human Rights theme is about us, about communities, about people like you and me and our governments making a commitment to honour and respect the dignity of the vulnerable and to those already living with HIV.”