ONE Campus leader Vanessa Gonzalez Rodriguez was diagnosed with HIV at the age of nine, but thanks to life-saving medicines, she was able to give birth to a healthy baby boy. Here’s her incredible story:
It’s heartbreaking to have people tell you that you shouldn’t have kids because you’re HIV-positive. That’s what I was told by my family since I was diagnosed at the age of nine. Every little girl dreams of being a mom someday, and I was no different. But 10 years later, when I found out I was pregnant, I couldn’t help but be a little nervous. One question was on my mind: Would my child be born with HIV?
When I was young, it used to be hard for me to take my medicine because the dosage was 16 pills a day. Years later, as I became a soon-to-be mother, it was easier not only because there were less pills, but because I knew it wasn’t just for me. It was for my child. I was on a combination of incredible drugs –- Combivir, Kaletra and prenatal vitamins — but I took my medicine every day and I went to the doctor as scheduled. And nine months later, my beautiful baby boy Daniel was born.
For the first time ever, Hanna High School in Brownsville, Texas was involved with World AIDS Day. After realizing how many events were happening around the world, I wanted to help make something happen here in Brownsville. So I did!
Paul Turner, Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr, Evelyn Komutale, Roscoe Mapps
It was an honor to observe World AIDS Day in Los Angeles with Save Africa’s Children (SAC) at West Angeles Church of God in Christ. Save Africa’s Children is an extraordinary ministry, started by Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr, providing direct support and care to orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS, poverty and war throughout sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean.
Since 2001, SAC has assisted more than 400 orphan care programs in 21 African nations, reaching more than 200,000 AIDS-affected children. SAC is among the first and largest African-American founded organizations meeting the needs of vulnerable children in Africa. Joining us in observation was SAC President Paul Turner, gospel singer Ami Rushes, and Outreach To Africa Founder Evelyn Komuntale. Our wonderful evening was touched with inspiration through praise and worship, video, education, tribute and a call to action.
The following excerpts come from a piece published today in the Mail and Guardian by our Africa Director, Dr. Sipho Moyo. In the piece, she outlines how Africans and the global community should scale up and improve efforts to fight HIV/AIDS. — Erin Hohlfelder
“The 2010 World Cup was a moment of great pride for all Africans. It provided an opportunity to show the world the incredible progress that has been achieved across the continent and demonstrated the unyielding spirit of optimism that is quintessentially African. Today on World AIDS Day, we should similarly take stock of the progress and how far we have come in the fight against this deadly disease. Less than a decade ago… fewer than 50,000 Africans were receiving life-saving antiretroviral treatment. Now, thanks in part to programs such as the Global Fund and the strong commitment of our governments, nearly 4 million Africans—enough to fill Soccer City Stadium more than 44 times—are able to access the treatment they need to live longer, more productive lives. “
Two years ago, Ms. Cynthia Lebron took on the role of adviser to the ONE club at the Somerset Academy Charter School located in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Under her guidance, the students have organized a number of awareness activities in order to get the rest of the school talking about ONE and how each student can use their voice to help fight poverty and preventable disease.
This year for World AIDS Day, the group created the PSA below in an effort to continue educating the community about how we can help raise awareness of the global impact of HIV/AIDS. Take a minute to check it out, and be sure to check out ONE’s volunteer resources to learn about how you can get involved.
On World AIDS Day, communities from all over the globe stopped to recognize the 12,700 people who die each day from HIV/AIDS. But knowing the facts about HIV/AIDS is only half the battle. Here’s a fact sheet that illustrates both sides of the coin in cold, hard numbers: the current situation of the epidemic AND the progress of AIDS-fighting efforts like the Global Fund.
- Each day there were 7,000 new infections; 97 percent of these occurred in low and middle income countries
- The numbers show that of the 6,000 daily new adult cases, 41 percent were between the ages of 15-24
- In 2009, 33.3 million people were living with HIV around the world. Of those, 30.8 million are adults, 15.9 million are women and 2.5 million are children under the age of 5
- 2.6 million people were newly infected with HIV; 2.2 million adults and 370,000 children
- 22.5 of the 33.3 million people living with HIV reside in sub-Saharan Africa
- 1.8 million people died from AIDS, more than a quarter of a million of those were children under the age of 15
The progress in the fight:
While these numbers prove there is much work to be done, campaigns like the Living Proof show us that together, we can achieve progress for the world’s poorest.
- The Global Fund saves 4,000 lives every day
- Nearly 4 million Africans are on life preserving treatment for AIDS today, up from 50,000 in 2003.
- The use of treatment for HIV-positive pregnant women has stopped an estimated 200,000 new HIV infections in children over the last 12 years, the vast majority since 2005.
- 22 sub-Saharan countries saw the rate of new infections fall by more than 25 percent between 2001 and 2009.
- In 2009, an estimated 53% of pregnant women living with HIV received ARV’s to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to their infants, up from 15 percent in 2005
Yesterday, the Pembroke Pines Charter High School faculty and student body gathered outside to rally in support of ONE’s fight to ensure that no child is born with HIV by 2015. More than 200 students showed up with signs and flags to help get the message across, all while donning ONE shirts.
During the event, many of the students took some time to record their ONE wish for World AIDS Day. Check out what they had to say and be sure to tweet your ONE wish this week!
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.
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