Today is December 1st, otherwise known as World Aids Day.
*In the United Kingdom, over 90,000 people suffer from AIDS or a HIV-related illness. This figure has trebled in the last 10 years.
*There are 33.7 million sufferers of the illness worldwide. 2.1 million of them are children.
The theme of this year's World AIDS Day is Universal Access and Human Rights (my favourite).
As such, the promotion and protection of human rights is fundamental for combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic.Violating human rights puts the already stigmatized groups, such as injected drug users and sex workers at higher risk of infection. The promotion of human rights allows for the prevention of new human rights and those already infected with HIV free from discrimination.
In addition, the pharmaceutical companies have a nasty habit of selling their anti-retroviral drugs at relatively ridiculous price to the ones who need it the most in the poorest nations. So I'm advocating a universal access to these drugs to prevent the spread of HIV.
So what can we do? Well, we can wear the red ribbon as a symbol of AIDS awareness.
We can also help by donating to the AIDS charity AVERT.
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