Luis Agois President of the Peruvian Press Council, Renate Ehmer, UNAIDS Coordinator for Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia and Jorge Chediek, Resident Representative of the UN system at the launch of the new campaign.
Credit: UNAIDS/UNDP/CPP

In Peru, 76 000 people are living with HIV. While HIV prevalence in the general population is relatively low at 0.5%, the men who have sex with men and the transgender communities have been hard hit by the epidemic with an estimated prevalence of 10.8% and 32% respectively.

A range of complex social prejudices result in people living with the HIV being frequently subject to discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.

To counter stigma towards people living with HIV in Peru a new campaign was launched in November 2009; a joint initiative by UNAIDS, UNDP and the Peruvian Press Council.

The purpose of the multimedia campaign, entitled “An image against stigma and discrimination caused by HIV and AIDS”, is to create a supportive environment for people living with HIV, free of discrimination and fear.

Speaking at the launch, the President of the Peruvian Press Council Luis Agois noted the role media can play. “Our contribution is the broadcasting of this campaign, an initiative which has been enthusiastically joined by the press in general in Peru.”

Fear of social repercussions and the discrimination that might result from a positive HIV test, many Peruvians avoid leaning their HIV status according to Jorge Chediek, Resident Representative of the UN system, further jeopardizing their health. “As a consequence, they can’t access treatment; and HIV treatment in Peru is free.”

Renate Ehmer, UNAIDS Coordinator for Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia highlighted the extreme expressions of stigma and discriminations that result in violence, “hate crimes; when men and women are killed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

“Estimates by civil society organizations reveal that an increasing number of hate crimes are taking place every year, most of which go unpunished,” Ms Ehmer continued.

The campaign brings together Peruvian celebrities and people living with HIV who appear on posters and brochures and distributed nation-wide.

The high profile participants include Javier Velasquez Quesquen, Head of the Cabinet of Ministers; Javier Villa Stein, President of the Judiciary; Oscar Ugarte, Minister of Health; Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Antonio Brack, Minister of Environment; Monsignor Bambaren, Nolberto Solano, football players, members of the music group Grupo 5 and comedian Carlos Alvarez as well as Economist Hernando de Soto.

Two short films have also been produced as part of the campaign and can be watched here:
An image against stigma and discrimination caused by HIV and AIDS vol 1
An image against stigma and discrimination caused by HIV and AIDS vol 2

A version of this story was first published at www.unfpa.org

This portrait of father and son from El Salvador is one of 38 images depicting positive images in the “Influential Men photography exhibit”
Credit: David Isaksson

It should have been one of the happiest nights of their lives. A young soldier and his new wife were alone for the first time on their wedding night. Much to the husband’s surprise, there was no blood after they consummated the marriage. They knew the kind of danger this result could bring if anyone found out. Elder women from the village would want to see the sheets, and if there was no blood, the young bride could be hurt, or even killed, for tarnishing her family’s honour.

But several months earlier, the soldier had participated in a training session on sexual and reproductive health, gender equality and the prevention of gender-based violence. He learned that a woman can be a virgin and not bleed during intercourse, and that there may be more to a woman’s honour than her virginity. The soldier cut his finger and let it bleed onto the sheets to save his wife from danger.

The soldier reported this story to the trainers, and it trickled up to the leadership in the Ministry of Health, the Turkish Armed Forces and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). It has stayed with them as a reminder that just one day of education can change – and perhaps save – a person’s life.

Comprehensive training on reproductive health for the Turkish Armed Forces is one of the programmes described in the new publication, Partnering with men to end gender-based violence
Credit Nezih Tavlas

The training session was part of an ambitious effort to educate every young man in Turkey on the importance of sexual and reproductive health, gender equality and the prevention of gender-based violence. It was organized by UNFPA, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Turkish Armed Forces.

With no formal curriculum in schools on sexual health, the training was the first time many soldiers learned how to use a condom or gave thought to gender-based violence. To date, 3 million men have been trained, and the project has been made permanent by a decree from the Turkish Armed Forces. Many of the soldiers say the training changed their beliefs about a woman’s right to make her own choices and to live free from violence.

The story is from one of five case studies featured in a new UNFPA publication, Partnering with Men to End Gender-based Violence: Practices that work from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Other studies document experience in working with non-governmental organisations in the Ukraine, communities in Armenia, institutions in Romania and police officers in Turkey. The studies provide a step-by-step analysis of how projects to address gender-based violence were carried out and the process through which they were implemented.

“If there is one key lesson to be learned from these case studies, it is the value of partnership between men and women,” says Thea Fierens, UNFPA regional director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “It is not women or men working alone to end gender-based violence that yields the best results. Rather, it is the partnerships between them that have the greatest impact and reach. Each case study, in its own way, exemplifies this point, and provides a portal – even if only a small one – into what a world free from violence would look like.”

For UNAIDS stopping violence against women and girls is an issue of major concern and has been highlighted as one of nine priority areas outlined in the UNAIDS Outcome Framework 2009-11.

Alongside the featured publication, UNFPA has commissioned an exhibition of photographs, entitled ‘Influential men’, which highlights the power of positive male role models. It aims to raise awareness of the importance of including and engaging men and boys in creating a world in which every individual is treated with dignity and respect.

Click here to view a photo gallery of the exhibition.

(From L to R) Mark Richmond, UNESCO’s Global Coordinator on HIV and AIDS, Dr Mariangela Batista Galvao Simao, Director, Brazil National STD/AIDS Programme, Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director, Elizabeth Mataka, member of the Global Advisory Group on Sexuality Education and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa and Marijke Wijnroks, the AIDS ambassador for the Netherlands
Credit: UNAIDS/D.Bregnard

In many parts of the world, a combination of social taboos, unavailability of sound information, lack of resources and infrastructure make it difficult for children and young people to access sexuality education aimed at improving knowledge and reducing risk. This leaves many young people vulnerable to coercion, abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

According to the UNAIDS 2008 Global Report on the AIDS Epidemic, only 40% of young people aged 15-24 had accurate knowledge about HIV and transmission. It should come as no surprise that, against this background of insufficient levels of basic knowledge, young people aged 15-24 account for 40% of all new HIV infections (UNAIDS 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update).

In response to this challenge, the voluntary and non-mandatory International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education developed by UNESCO in partnership with UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO seeks to assist education, health and other relevant authorities to develop and implement school-based sexuality education materials and programmes. The International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education is based on a rigorous review of evidence on sexuality education programmes and is aimed at education and health sector decision-makers and professionals.

Sexuality education can play a key role in improving knowledge and reducing sexual risk behaviours among young people. Equipped with better knowledge, information and skills, young people can be empowered to make informed decisions about sexual choices.

“If we are to make an impact on children and young people before they become sexually active, comprehensive sexuality education must become part of the formal school curriculum, delivered by well trained and supported teachers,” says Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director. “Teachers remain trusted sources of knowledge and skills in all education systems and they are a highly valued resource in the education sector response to AIDS.”

The International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education was co-authored by leading experts in the field of sexuality education and subjected to extensive review and comment by a global panel of experts and practitioners from civil society organizations, ministries of education and international agencies. Volume I of the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education focuses on the rationale for sexuality education and provides sound technical advice on characteristics of effective programmes. It is the outcome of a rigorous review of the literature on the impact of sexuality education and sexual behaviour, drawing upon 87 studies from around the world.

A companion document (Volume II) focuses on the topics and learning objectives to be covered in a ‘basic minimum package’ on sexuality education for children and young people from 5 to 18+ years of age and includes a bibliography of useful resources. It was informed by a review of curricula from 12 countries, as well as other international models.

“Numerous studies show that with the right information and skills, young people can change their behaviour to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV infection or passing it on to others,” says Mark Richmond, UNESCO’s Global Coordinator on HIV and AIDS and the Director for the Division for the Coordination of UN Priorities in Education. “At a minimum, HIV and AIDS education needs to include information on the HIV virus and its modes of transmission. At some point, HIV and AIDS education must introduce sex and relationships education - simply because over 75% of all HIV infections occur through sexual transmission.”

The UN organizations called on policy-makers to listen to young people, families, teachers and other practitioners, and use the International Technical Guidance to make sexuality education an integral part of the national response to the HIV pandemic.

UNESCO and its partners including UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO, as well as a wide range of other partners, will support governments in operationalising the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education at regional and country level. The two volumes of the International Technical Guidance will be published in all the six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) as well as Portuguese.

No country is free of discrimination. We see it everywhere, in many forms: old and new, covert and blatant, public and private. It may appear as institutionalized racism, as ethnic strife, as episodes of intolerance and rejection, or as an official national version of history that denies the identity of others.

Discrimination targets individuals and groups that are vulnerable to attack: the disabled, women and girls, the poor, migrants, minorities, and all those who are perceived as different.

These vulnerable people are frequently excluded from participating in the economic, political, cultural and social lives of their communities. The bigotry that stigmatizes and excludes them can be exploited by extremists. In some countries, we are witnessing the rise of a new politics of xenophobia.

But these victims of discrimination are not alone. The United Nations is standing with them, committed to defending the rights of all, and particularly the most vulnerable. That is our identity and our mission. The international human rights community continues to counter bias and hatred. Public awareness has led to global treaties offering legal protection from discrimination and unequal treatment.

But abstract commitments are not enough. We must continue to confront inequality and intolerance wherever they are found.

On Human Rights Day, I invite people everywhere, at all levels, to join the United Nations and human rights defenders around the world in the fight against discrimination.

Ban Ki-moon

A version of this story was first published at www.unhcr.org

A group of displaced women making handicrafts in eastern Congo.
Credit: UNHCR/D.Nthengwe

Tomorrow, December 10 marks the end of 16 days of activism to end violence against women, an international campaign. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, is taking the opportunity to draw attention to its work, alongside local partners, in challenging the very high number of rapes occurring in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Twenty-eight-year-old widow Kahindo is lucky to be alive after being attacked and abused by armed men while fleeing her village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a country with one of the highest rates of rape in the world.

The young woman and her six children ran into a group of men not far from the village in eastern DRC's volatile North Kivu province. "My reaction was a sigh of relief, thinking we were not going to run anymore," Kahindo recalled. "I was wrong."

She was led away from her children and then "six armed men stripped me naked. They began to rape me one after the other until I went into a coma," an emotional Kahindo told UNHCR near the North Kivu capital, Goma. "They left me for dead."

Today, almost four years later, this forcibly displaced woman sometimes feels that she might as well have died. In between sobs, she told of the terrible price she has paid. "Medical tests showed that I also contracted HIV," she said, adding: "The impact of rape is not just. The stigma that I face is not just, either."

The widow believes, "I was raped as a punishment for what I am. Those men wanted to degrade me and insult my family, dignity, my culture and everything I stand for."

Her story is appalling, but by no means isolated. According to UN figures, almost 3,500 females were raped by soldiers, militiamen and civilians during the first six months of this year in eastern DRC, compared to some 4,800 for the whole of 2008. The real figures are believed to be higher because many victims do not come forward. During a visit to North Kivu last August, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the widespread sexual violence against women in the conflict-swept region "a crime against humanity."

The forcibly displaced are particularly vulnerable in an area where hundreds of thousands are living with host families or in camps run by UNHCR despite the formal end of war in the DRC in 2003. Civilians live under the constant threat of armed men who pillage, rape, burn houses and confiscate food rations.

These women are very much in the mind of UNHCR and its local implementing partners, such as Women for Women International (WWI) and Search for Common Ground, during the 16 days of activism to end violence against women.

WWI has a project in the DRC to help those who have been raped. "We are making a difference in the lives of rape survivors," said Jose Rugamba, a WWI counsellor based in Goma. "But we cannot say the phenomenon has diminished," she added.

Lena Slachmuijlder, director of Search for Common Ground, said years of war had radicalized attitudes towards women and this was obstructing attempts to combat sexual violence in the DRC. "That is why the scourge of gender-based sexual violence will not reduce, or end, anytime soon."

Most women argue that the failure to jail and punish convicted offenders has led to a culture of impunity and to growing misogyny. "Twenty years is usually the jail term for offenders. But here in Congo, a rapist can be released after paying the equivalent of US$3 to a prison warden," claimed one woman.

Sexual violence can also have a devastating effect on family relationships. Rape survivors are often rejected by family members and their communities, who fail to appreciate the physical and psychological trauma of rape. Changing mindsets will take a long time.

"The best strategy to winning this war is to prevent rape from taking place," said Karl Steinacker, coordinator of UNHCR operations in eastern DRC. That will be a tough task, and one that must tackle immunity and help spread awareness.

Under a UNHCR-sponsored programme, Search for Common Ground is trying to do the latter. The United States-based non-governmental organization has been going through towns and villages in eastern and south-eastern provinces screening films and videos on the issue of sexual and gender-based violence.

Slachmuijlder said the mobile cinema has an impact because the subjects of the films are real people. By allowing the victims of sexual violence to speak out, she said, "We are giving space for interaction and debate on issues people consider taboo, but which should be openly discussed to demystify the issues."

In partnership with other agencies, UNHCR is also assisting rape victims through counselling, medical treatment, micro-finance projects and reintegration activities.

For UNAIDS, this issue is a major concern and its Outcome Framework 2009-11 has stopping violence against women and girls as one of nine priority areas.

Emmanuel Adebayor, Football player and UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director and Michael Ballack, Football Player and UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador in Manchester on 6 December 2009.
Credit: Edward Garvey

On Saturday, 5 December 2009, Manchester City Stadium in the UK turned off its lights before the players entered the stadium as the UNAIDS campaign “UNITING THE WORLD AGAINST AIDS” featuring Michael Ballack and Emmanuel Adebayor played on the stadium’s two large scoreboards.

The match between Chelsea FC and Manchester City took place during the week of World AIDS Day, a time of solidarity for people living with HIV. The Executive Director of UNAIDS Michel Sidibé was invited as a guest of honor, to attend the game and meet the UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassadors at this unique event.

A Goodwill Ambassador since 2006, Michael Ballack who plays for Chelsea has dedicated much of his time and effort to support UNAIDS and the AIDS response. He has helped leverage FIFA to include HIV prevention in the World Cup preparations; spoken to leading politicians to pledge for a scaled up commitment to the AIDS response; and, disseminated HIV prevention messages through the media. Michael Ballack has dedicated space for UNAIDS and for HIV prevention messages on his own web site www.michael-ballack.com, and has featured in numerous media outlets including BBC, CNN, Newsweek and Der Spiegel.

Manchester City star, Emmanuel Adebayor was appointed a UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador in March 2009, but began supporting UNAIDS prior to this date. Since joining UNAIDS, Emmanuel has engaged with the press to highlight the need for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. He has spoken out about the importance of eliminating stigma and discrimination and undertaken an AIDS awareness mission in his native Togo.

Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director met with Gary Cook, CEO of Manchester City FC holding the UNAIDS advocacy swaetshirt in Manchester on 6 December 2009.
Credit: Edward Garvey

In 2008, Emanuelle Adebayor teamed up with Michael Ballack to star in the successful AIDS awareness campaign “United Against AIDS”, where the players feature in a public service announcement and print campaign. The story line builds around their rivalry on the pitch – but off the pitch – they are ‘united against AIDS’. The campaign also includes posters and postcards featuring HIV prevention messages.

As a former member of the Malian national football team, the Executive Director of UNAIDS Michel Sidibé is especially aware of the unique impact sport can play in the response. “We must use this popular game as a force for change to reverse the spread of epidemic and raise people’s awareness around the disease and how to protect themselves,” said Michel Sidibé.

UNAIDS’ Executive Director also met with the CEO of Manchester City Football Club, Mr Gary Cook, to thank him for his generous support to UNAIDS. Mr Cook congratulated UNAIDS on the current campaign and pledged his continued support to the initiative.

In most countries around the world HIV prevalence is higher among prisoners than in the general population. This is due to a number of factors including the relative lack of knowledge about HIV among prisoners, lack of access to protective measures, often violent conditions, overcrowding and inadequate health services.

To help tackle this situation in Africa, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in partnership with WHO, the World Bank and UNAIDS has launched the African HIV in Prisons Partnership Network (AHPPN).

The initiative was announced at the east and southern Africa consultation which took place on 17 and 18 November 2009. The consultation brought together representatives from prison authorities, civil society,  national AIDS councils, health, research and academic institutions, as well as United Nations agencies from 16 African countries.

Responding to the situation in prisons is not only of the essential for those incarcerated but for society as a whole. When released back into the community prisoners who have been vulnerable to HIV infection while in prison may then go on to engage in high risk behaviours outside of prison. 

Despite such challenges, strategies to address HIV in prisons are often isolated and not well integrated into national AIDS plans and programmes. 

The African HIV in Prisons Partnership Network will support efforts to mount effective, human rights-based responses to HIV in Africa’s prisons. It also hopes to facilitate knowledge sharing and the forging of alliances between a range of partners to encourage a coherent, broad and holistic approach.

Championing this need for coordination, Ms. Elizabeth Mataka, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa and keynote speaker at the launch noted, “We cannot work in silos…we need everyone, from government officials, National AIDS Councils, law enforcement agencies, civil society organisations, prisoners and former prisoners, to truly reach the objectives of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for this particular sub-population, but also with benefits for society-at-large.”

The network will also ensure that existing gaps in knowledge about the true nature and extent of HIV in prison settings are addressed and that the response is based on sound data and evidence.

Ms Mataka added, “We need more comprehensive information about the HIV situation in prisons across Africa...This information should inform the development of evidence-based comprehensive, HIV prevention, care, treatment and support services for men, women and juveniles in prisons and ex-prisoners; without discrimination. These services, it goes without saying, should be of the same quality and standard, as for non-prisoners; and address linkages with the broader community.”

The remit of the African HIV in Prisons Partnership Network is wide and will focus not only on HIV but on tuberculosis, mental health, drug use and prison overcrowding. The network will also provide technical support to member states.

A regional declaration of commitment on AIDS in prisons was adopted at the consultation forum. Informed by the socio-cultural and economic context in Africa, the declaration will be used as a framework for encouraging an effective response to HIV in the region’s prisons.

The Network, which will be supported financially by the Swedish/Norwegian HIV/AIDS Team for Africa, has created a website to share ideas and experiences across the widest possible forum. The site can be accessed at www.ahppn.com.

 

Some 36 million people have been cured of tuberculosis (TB) over the past 15 years through a rigorous approach to treatment endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). New data, released by WHO, also indicate that up to 8 million TB deaths have been averted, confirming the Stop TB Strategy as the most cost-effective approach in the fight against TB.

The WHO update also shows continued progress on addressing the lethal combination of TB and HIV. Between 2007 and 2008, 1.4 million TB patients were tested for HIV, an increase of 200, 000. Of those who tested HIV positive, one-third benefited from life-saving HIV anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and two-thirds were enrolled on co-trimoxazole prophylaxis to prevent the risk of fatal bacterial infections. In addition, screening for tuberculosis and access to isoniazid preventive therapy for TB among people living with HIV more than doubled, although the total number is still far short of what it should be.

"Fifteen years of TB investments are bringing visible results in terms of human lives saved. Together, national programmes, WHO, UNAIDS, the Global Fund and other partners have helped save millions of lives from TB," said Dr Mario Raviglione, Director of WHO's Stop TB Department. "But the current pace of progress is far from sufficient to decisively target our goal of TB elimination."

The WHO Stop TB Strategy has five elements: political commitment with increased and sustained financing, case detection through quality-assured bacteriology, standardized treatment with supervision and patient support, an effective drug supply and management system, monitoring and evaluation system and impact measurement.

Data from the latest 12 month period now show that the highest ever number of infectious patients - 2.3 million people - were cured. With 87% of treated patients cured, the 85% global target was exceeded for the first time since it was established in 1991. Furthermore, a total of 53 countries surpassed this treatment milestone.

Although more and more patients are being cured, there are millions who are being let down because they are unable to access high-quality care. TB remains second only to AIDS in terms of the number of people it kills. In 2008, 1.8 million people died from TB including half a million deaths in HIV related illness–many of them because they were not enrolled on ART.

A persistent challenge that is largely left unchecked in many parts of the world is multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and its even more dangerous form, extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). Of the estimated half a million MDR-TB cases occurring per year, almost 30 000 were officially reported and 6 000 were known to be treated according to WHO international standards in 2008. A major expansion of services is currently in an early and difficult phase but almost 29 000 people are expected to be treated in 2010.

Of the estimated 9.4 million TB cases in 2008 (including 1.4 million TB/HIV cases), 3.6 million cases occurred among women.

"Half a million women died from TB last year. It is a disease that destroys lives, damages families and stifles development," said Dr Mario Raviglione. "Without help to fill the US$ 2 billion funding gap for TB care and control in 2010, the most vulnerable people will continue to miss the benefits so many others have seen."

The new report provides the most accurate information on the global burden of tuberculosis. It also features updates about the work of the Global Laboratory Initiative, the WHO Global Task Force on TB Impact Measurement, and describes the success of a new initiative in 2009 in which global TB data collection went online.

Mr Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director with Dr Paul De Lay, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director
Credit: UNAIDS/Bregnard

The 25th meeting of the Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) of UNAIDS opened today in Geneva. The PCB, currently chaired by Ethiopia, is the governing body of UNAIDS and convenes two times per year.

One of the key items on the agenda is the recently concluded Second Independent Evaluation of UNAIDS 2002-2008 (SIE) , which earlier in the year was deemed both a credible and independent evaluation by the Report Oversight Committee. UNIADS has also, through a participatory process by all levels of the organization, drafted a response to the SIE to be will be presented and discussed at the meeting.

Another key agenda item is the presentation of a report on the anticipated impact that the financial crises will have on countries’ abilities to meet their universal access targets. The presentation will also outline recommendations and mitigation strategies of the impact of the global economic crisis on the AIDS response.

In the opening session, UNAIDS Executive Director Mr Michel Sidibé presented his report to the PCB, where members were provided with an update on UNAIDS’ activities since the last meeting.

Members and delegates at the 25th Programme Coordinating Board of UNAIDS
Credit: UNAIDS/Bregnard

Not just outlining recent undertakings, Mr Sidibé in his address also envisioned two key goals for a successful AIDS response. “Firstly”, Mr Sidibé said, “the AIDS movement must be leveraged as a force for transformation in global health, development and environmental sustainability.”

Secondly, Mr Sidibé called for the mobilization of a prevention revolution. The UNAIDS head stressed that by adequate investments today the number of new infections by 2015 could be halved; “2.3 million new infections can be averted and $US 12.5 billion in treatment costs saved,” said Mr Sidibé.

The PCB consists of representatives of 22 governments from all geographic regions, the UNAIDS Cosponsors, and five representatives of nongovernmental organizations, including associations of people living with HIV. The meeting runs to the 10th of December and the next time the board will sit is June of 2010.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon speaking at the "Light for Rights" event during the World AIDS Day celebrations in New York City.
Credit: UNAIDS/B. Hamilton

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined with leaders in the AIDS response and entertainment stars at a dramatic public event commemorating World AIDS Day 2009 on 1 December at New York City’s historic Washington Square Park Memorial Arch.

Lights on the arch and other landmarks around the city were turned off at 6:15 pm to remember those lost to AIDS, and to represent how stigma, discrimination, fear and shame drive people with HIV into the darkness; then re-lighted to show how shining a human rights light on HIV can help people with HIV emerge from the shadows, to seek the information, treatments, care and support they need to live healthy lives.

“On World AIDS Day this year, our challenge is clear: we must continue doing what works, but we must also do more, on an urgent basis, to uphold our commitment to reach universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. “This goal can be achieved only if we shine the full light of human rights on HIV. AIDS responses do not punish people; they protect them.”

Joining the event were Naomi Watts, Oscar-nominated actress and UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador; Christine C. Quinn, Speaker of the New York City Council; Oscar winner and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Susan Sarandon, Dr Paul De Lay, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS; and Tembeni Fazo, a counselor and educator for HIV-positive African and Caribbean immigrants in New York; and Cheyenne Jackson, a star on television and now on Broadway, who opened the evening.

UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador and actor Naomi Watts addressed the event in New York.
Credit: UNAIDS/B. Hamilton

UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador Naomi Watts highlighted the injustice of stigma. “It has been both unfortunate and unfair for HIV infection to be considered a shameful disease, for people living with HIV to be judged as blameworthy, and for AIDS to be equated with certain death. I have personally seen that dignity and hope have been strongest among those whose lives were changed by HIV.” As UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, Watts has used her celebrity status to raise AIDS awareness and give a greater voice to the needs of people living with HIV.

“We are here tonight to shine a light on the human rights that are so central to the success of the fight against AIDS. And we’re here to recommit ourselves to bringing an end to the global AIDS epidemic,” said Kenneth Cole, renowned fashion designer, chairman of Kenneth Cole Productions, and chairman of the board of trustees of amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research), who hosted the event.

UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme Paul De Lay at the "Light for Rights" World AIDS Day event. New York, 01 December 2009.
Credit: UNAIDS/B. Hamilton

The event launched the global LIGHT FOR RIGHTS campaign organized by amfAR, UNAIDS, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and the World AIDS Campaign. UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Paul De Lay confirmed UNAIDS support, “UNAIDS is excited to participate in the launch of this two-year campaign to shine a light on the importance of humans rights for achieving universal access.

“If we shine a human rights light on people with AIDS, they can emerge from the darkness to gain access to treatment, information, care and support to allow them to live normal lives,” he continued.

Dr De Lay called Tom Viola, Executive Director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and Marcel Van Soest, the Executive Director of the World AIDS Campaign, to join him on stage and thanked their organizations for the commitment to co-sponsor the two-year LIGHT FOR RIGHTS campaign. Dr De Lay also thanked Mr. Cole for his leadership on the campaign and for the LIGHTS FOR RIGHTS brand and Red Ribbon Light Bulb symbol, which the design team of Kenneth Cole Productions developed in consultation with the four co-sponsoring organizations.

Other speakers spoke powerfully of the shared responsibility we have to ensure rights are protected.

Ms Susan Sarandon, who was a leader of efforts to free HIV-positive Haitian refugees from the HIV detention Camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in the early 1990’s, recalled the long struggle against stigma and isolation facing people living with HIV, and said that ensuring respect for human rights is essential. City Council Speaker Quinn highlighted how the lack of equality for segments of the general population including the inequality of men who have sex with men, drug users, sex workers and women and girls, heightens their vulnerability to discrimination and marginalization, which makes them especially at risk of contracting HIV.

Other landmarks around the city that dimmed their lights and then re-illuminated them as part of the LIGHT FOR RIGHTS event included: the Chrysler Building; Rockefeller Center; Lincoln Center, including the Metropolitan Opera, Avery Fisher Hall, the David H. Koch Theater and the Revson Fountain; the MetLife Building; Madison Square Garden; the Beacon Theatre; 33 Broadway theaters; and Radio City Music Hall.