The Issue
We are at a turning point in the fight against HIV and AIDS, the disease that has taken the lives of over 25 million people and orphaned more than 16 million children across three decades. For all this devastation, an HIV-free generation is actually possible today.
In 2011, a rallying cry is rising up to see us reach zero. Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths. This cry is being launched on World AIDS Day, December 1st , and will continue growing as we near the 2015 target date for the Millennium Development Goals.
Global estimates say that more than 1,000 babies are born with HIV every day. Without care and medication, about 50% of them will die before age two. But annual new HIV infections are falling, down 21% from 1997 to 2010. This means that more pregnant women are being tested for HIV and are receiving antiretrovirals, and more children are receiving antiretrovirals at birth.
But we need to accelerate our long-term response to make sure we don’t back-track on progress made so far. The United Nations has mapped out a clear vision to take the world to zero in three years: the 2011 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS: Intensifying Our Efforts to Eliminate HIV/AIDS.
What is World Vision doing?
World Vision is part of these efforts. In 2000, we launched our global Hope Initiative to fight HIV and AIDS and accomplish three broad goals, in partnership with communities:
1.
Prevent new cases of HIV especially among children, high-risk groups, and pregnant and lactating mothers.
2. Through community care groups and faith leaders, improve the quality of care for children affected by HIV and AIDS, including those orphaned by AIDS and living with HIV-positive parents.
3.
Call governments to develop public policies and programs that minimize the spread of the disease and provide care for people living with or affected by it.
Through our Hope Initiative, HIV prevention messages have reached over 760,000 children and nearly 50,000 of these children are trained and educating their peers on HIV prevention. In Africa alone, 4222 community coalitions have come together to care for people living with HIV and AIDS, orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in their villages. 1.2 million OVC are receiving care on the African continent alone. There have also been important wins with world governments and international organizations like UN agencies -- we’ve seen more focus on and funding for children in international AIDS declarations and commitments. And more than 870,000 community members, including children, across 20 countries in Africa were involved in calling for changes to local government policies and budgets for HIV and AIDS.
What you can do
