'Give them hope'
Published:Monday | November 29, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Laura Redpath, Senior Gleaner Writer
With just over 33 million people in the world living with HIV/AIDS, this year's World AIDS Day will focus on universal access and human rights as the prominent theme.
In addition to the worldwide theme, the Jamaica Red Cross will also be carrying out education exercises under the tag line: 'Expressions of Hope'.
"Persons living with HIV/AIDS tend to have this mindset that it is the end of life," said Patty Rhodes of the World AIDS Day Committee and first-aid officer of the Red Cross.
"We're hoping that people who are not living with HIV/AIDS will give hope and let others know they can survive," she continued.
World AIDS Day was first launched in December 1988, focusing on raising money, increasing awareness and improving education while working against prejudice.
Also included in the 33 million people with HIV, according to the UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic, are 2.5 million children living with the virus.
UNAIDS estimated that in 2009, 2.6 million people were infected and 1.8 million people died from AIDS.
AVERT, an international charity with focus on HIV/AIDS, pointed out that the "vast majority" of people with HIV/AIDS reside in lower- and middle-income groups, and HIV is a threat to men, women and children all across the world.
In United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's address for World AIDS Day, he noted that fewer people are becoming infected while millions have access to treatment.
He added that more women are now able to prevent their babies from becoming infected.
Local activist and stakeholder groups, including the Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, the National HIV/STI Programme, the National AIDS Committee and the Jamaica Network for Seroposi-tives, will also be hosting a series of events to enhance efforts to stop stigmatisation and discrimination against persons living with HIV/AIDS.