Just in case you missed it, here’s the video clip of the World AIDS Day segment from “Special Report with Bret Baier,” which aired yesterday at 6 PM ET on FOX News. The powerful segment featured interviews with former President George W. Bush and Bono and included President Obama’s special World AIDS Day message. Click the image below to watch the video, and be sure to leave us a comment to let us know what you think!
Yesterday, World AIDS Day provided an opportunity for the people of Temple Lutheran Church in suburban Philadelphia to gather, watch and discuss “The Lazarus Effect.” The group shared a simple meal together and observed the beginning of the Christian season of Advent, which proclaims God’s vision for a world defined by justice and equity. It provided a powerful reminder of the connection between faith and ONE’s efforts to end the destructive work of AIDS.
After watching “The Lazarus Effect,” the group had a meaningful discussion about the reality of AIDS, the impact of antiretroviral (ARV) treatments, and the great opportunity to save lives that we must all participate in.
Mama Lyimo, a Tanzanian sociologist, has witnessed first-hand how HIV/AIDS has ravaged her East African country. Compelled by an immense heart and strong will, she set out on a 40-day survey across Tanzania to understand why the disease continues to thrive, leaving behind thousands of orphans in its wake.
“Into the Light,” an award-winning documentary directed by Peter Glenn, follows Mama Lyimo’s emotional journey as she travels from village to village, meeting with locals to produce answers and educate Tanzanians about this global epidemic.
The urgency and harrowing nature of the crisis develops a human face when Mama Lyimo crosses paths with an AIDS orphan named Suzy. Her poignant struggle to survive in the midst of sorrow and grieving changes the tone of Mama Lyimo’s research and leaves the audience haunted by this young victim.
Peter Glenn worked with Mama Lyimo for two years before actual shooting for the documentary commenced. To watch the film and learn more about HIV/AIDS in Tanzania, visit the “Into the Light” website.
Robin Smalley from mothers2mothers talks about the organization’s Mentor Mother program, which helps comfort and educate women who are both pregnant and HIV-positive.
Finding out that she is pregnant should be joyful news for a woman -– but learning that she is pregnant and has HIV can turn that hope into devastation.
Each year, nearly 400,000 children in Africa are born with HIV. There are very few doctors at the clinics, where overworked, overburdened nurses don’t have time to sit with a frightened expectant mother and explain what having HIV might mean for her baby. Women are left numb with shock and fear, full of questions that they are sometimes too overwhelmed to ask.
I have met many of these women, and heard their stories. Some come to mothers2mothers, the organization I cofounded with Mitch Besser and Gene Falk, terrified and convinced that they have received a death sentence for themselves and their children, and even talk about having an abortion or committing suicide. Some go into denial about their diagnosis, and are so angry and frustrated that they refuse to accept it.
Earlier today, ONE fellow and former speechwriter for George W. Bush, Michael Gerson chatted with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC to discuss President Bush’s op-ed, PEPFAR, and the fight against HIV/AIDS in general. As he notes, “the key to all prevention on AIDS is knowing your status and testing” and people are less inclined to get tested if they don’t know they have the drugs available for treatment.
I know that there’s a lot going on for World AIDS Day, but this is something that you won’t want to miss. Tonight, FOX News will be airing a segment on HIV/AIDS on “Special Report with Bret Baier” at 6PM ET.
If that wasn’t cool enough (Bret’s show is the No. 1 cable news program in its time slot), the segment will feature interviews with Bono and former President George W. Bush and include a World AIDS Day message from President Obama.
The piece is expected to be about 15 minutes long and will be an update on the fight against AIDS and the bipartisan response. There will also be an interview with a doctor from the Elizabeth Glaser foundation. Don’t miss it!
This is the last post in a five-part series on innovative prevention efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS for World AIDS Day. This blog post discusses how schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease, increases a woman’s chance of getting infected with HIV.
Before I came to ONE, I worked for an organization called the Global Network, which worked to raise the profile of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), disabling and debilitating diseases that impact more than a billion people around the world but receive very little public attention and funding. One of the most interesting things I learned in my time at the Global Network was how one NTD, schistosomiasis (also known as snail fever) took a particular toll on women.
Global distribution of S. haematobium Infection in Africa (As Well As S. japonicum and S. mekongi Infections in Asia) from the World Health Organization.
Schistosomiasis in anyone is problematic — it causes stunted growth and anemia and frequently leads to blood in the urine, intestinal damage and even cancer. But one type of schistosomiasis (S. haematobium) in girls and women can cause additional problems, including the development of rough, mucosal patches in the genitals.
Because of these patches, females who are sexually active are more likely to experience contact bleeding, and are thereby more susceptible to acquiring HIV. In fact, a study in Zimbabwe showed that women suffering from genital schistosomiasis were three times more likely to become infected with HIV than their counterparts who did not have schistosomiasis.
Having studied HIV/AIDS for years, I was astounded to learn of a potential risk factor for HIV in women that I had never even heard of before and that had received virtually no attention from policymakers. But I was also heartened, because treatment for schistosomiasis — thanks in part to drug donation programs — is just 32 cents per person, per year. For all the other worthy investments we make in AIDS prevention and treatment that are often tens and hundreds of dollars per year, certainly we can afford to tack on some additional loose change to control an NTD while also mitigating a potential risk factor for HIV in women!
As much as this seems like a no-brainer, there are still barriers to ensuring coverage for the women who need it. Partners of the Global Network, including the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative in the UK, are doing great work around the world to get praziquantel (the drug to treat schistosomiasis) to millions of people in need, but the drug remains in short supply globally. More research and on-the-ground pilot programs need to be conducted as well, to confirm linkages of causality between schistosomiasis and HIV and to show how HIV and NTD integration in the field can work.
We have no reason to delay treatment, even as this research is continued, however. In fact, as I write, millions of women and children are receiving treatment — including praziquantel — across Rwanda thanks to a partnership between Columbia University’s Access Project and the Rwandan Ministry of Health, and that’s progress worth celebrating for both HIV and NTD prevention.
Right now, some of the world's biggest oil companies are fighting to keep some of their deals with foreign governments secret. Let's tell big oil we won't be bullied.
Cuts to poverty-fighting programs won't balance the budget, but they will set back progress on Canada's development priorities and risk jeopardizing existing investments.
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.
