“We’re gaining on it.”
Susan Smith Ellis, CEO of our sister organization (RED), has an article in the Huffington Post I thought readers would be interested in.
She offers her take on the vaccination report issued by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and UNAIDS that we blogged about recently.
Excerpts below. Read the full article here, and share with your friends!
There are now more than 4 million people on antiretroviral treatments; up from 3 million the previous year. Nearly half of all HIV positive pregnant women who need treatment to help prevent the transmission of HIV to their child during birth are now getting it. And, there are more people with access to testing and counseling for HIV than ever before. The greatest progress has been achieved in sub-Saharan Africa.
As the CEO of (RED), I’m extremely proud of the progress that has been made and the contributions made by our partners (through the sale of (RED)-branded products) to the Global Fund. To date, through the sale of those (RED)-branded products and some (RED)-sponsored special events, we have generated over $135 million for the Global Fund in less than three years.
But the story behind the numbers is much more profound. On recent trips to both Ghana and Rwanda, where (RED) grant money is at work, I was fortunate to be able to see firsthand the impact that access to lifesaving medicine has. I met with HIV positive mothers who were able to give birth to healthy babies because the medicine given to them during labor prevented the transmission of this deadly virus. I talked with doctors, nurses and other health care providers who spoke of the transformation of their own work. Where once they could offer little hope to someone with AIDS, now they can provide medicine that is transformative.
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October 31, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Thanks Chris for posting this piece by Susan Smith Ellis in the ONE Blog – it’s very much appreciated. I think what’s most important from her piece is the central idea that when we work together AS ONE to eliminate HIV/AIDS & extreme poverty from our world, we can produce AMAZING results for REAL people. And isn’t that the result that we all want to see?
Let’s all continue to advocate together AS ONE and let’s all continue to INCREASE our purchasing of (RED) products – for Africa’s Future!
Living Positively, debbie