Dan Haseltine, lead singer of Jars of Clay and founder of Blood: Water Mission, reflects on his experience at ONE and (RED)’s World AIDS Day event, and compares the HIV/AIDS epidemic to a dragon.
I’m sitting in a mostly quiet airport eating an international dinner (read: China Panda), trying to remember names and faces and which comments went with the particular faces and names I could remember with a little help from the pocket full of new business cards I acquired. My first thought is, “The Ronald Reagan Airport has great lighting.” My second thought, which has equally little to do with my day is, “I wish the Dunkin Donuts was still open.” But my third thought, the one that has been rattling around in my head since 6:30 a.m., was, “How do you kill a dragon?”
Jessica Sardella, president of ONE’s George Washington University chapter, reflects on her experience at ONE and (RED)’s World AIDS Day event last week. This piece was originally published on the ONE Campus Tumblr.
In case you missed it, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum issued a quick statement on World AIDS Day last Thursday. Celebrating the success of PEPFAR and funding that has – and will continue to – save millions of lives in Africa, it is great to see his support for the fight against HIV and his call to action for the beginning of the end of AIDS.
Take a look at his full statement here:
“There is reason to celebrate today that over 4 million people with AIDS in Africa are on antiviral drugs as a result of the US commitments through PEPFAR and other partnerships. There is reason to set our resolve, as almost 5,000 people die every day due to AIDS and there are about 7,000 new HIV infections a day. Thankfully, there is reason to hope that in our lifetime, we may see the end of AIDS. Let’s turn our
resolve into action.”
Last week we marked World AIDS Day, our annual time for reflection and a recognition that the beginning of the end of AIDS is upon us. As we commemorate the strides that have been made in the battle against the disease since its discovery 30 years ago, it seems the perfect opportunity to present our next ONE award finalist, Prévention Information Lutte contre le Sida (PILS) in Mauritius and honor the progress that they have achieved in the battle against this indiscriminate disease.
Do you need a soundtrack to inspire you to fight against AIDS? Look no further than the Sinikithemba Choir, a South African musical group whose members, in addition to their passion and talent, have one thing in common: they are all HIV-positive.
Based in Durban, South Africa, the choir draws inspiration for their unique voice from their personal experiences, using music to call for prevention programs and treatments that will stop HIV in its tracks. Originally founded to support a community facing particularly high transmission rates and a stigma that left many battling the virus feeling isolated and alone, the group quickly found that their message resonated with thousands of others all over the world.
mothers2mothersworks to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV – and sustain the long-term health of women and children – by addressing the needs of HIV-positive pregnant women and new mothers. Its simple and effective “Mentor Mother” model is a critical part of the global effort to eliminate new cases of pediatric AIDS by 2015 and keep mothers alive. To reach this goal, mothers2mothers is working to help developing countries integrate this innovative model into national health systems.
Who are the Mentor Mothers? Meet two courageous women, both living with HIV/AIDS themselves, working for mothers2mothers and mentoring expectant and new mothers on how to keep themselves healthy and their babies HIV-free. Matseliso, a mother of three from Lesotho, and Jackline, a mother of one from Kenya, recently participated in a special communications training supported by Johnson & Johnson, to empower them to become global advocates for HIV-positive women and the Mentor Mother model. Johnson & Johnson is a long-time partner of mothers2mothers. To learn more, visit m2m.org or follow @m2mtweets.
Last night, after the excitement of ONE and (RED)’s World AIDS Day event, I had the chance to join with ONE members and others at the Whitman-Walker Health Annual World AIDS Day Vigil in Washington, DC.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
