“World AIDS day should not just be a reminder of the horrible situation HIV and AIDS has created in the world and in particular sub Saharan Africa, but it should also be a day for applauding the progress that we have made so far. Hopefully one day, it will be a day in which we can celebrate our momentous triumph over a disease that has exposed many of our society’s shortfalls. But we can only applaud ourselves if and when we ensure that our leaders stick to their commitments and every single person becomes a leader within their communities by challenging societal norms like gender inequality, dangerous cultural practices, stigma, discrimination and poverty which are detrimental to the fight against AIDS”. World AIDS Day 2008 statement by Elizabeth Mataka, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for AIDS in Africa
This 1st of December 2008 is the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, dedicated to the fight against the global epidemic. In spite of significant progress in prevention and treatment over the past two decades, much more still needs to be done by leaders at all levels to reach universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010. The theme for World AIDS Day 2007 and 2008 is “leadership”. This theme will continue to be promoted with the campaigning slogan, “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.”
Leadership was selected as the theme for World AIDS Day to encourage leaders at all levels to stop AIDS. Building on the 2006 theme of accountability, leadership highlights the discrepancy between the commitments that have been made to halt the spread of AIDS, and actions taken to follow them through. The theme empowers everyone from individuals to organisations to governments to lead in the response to AIDS.
“Keep the Promise' is an appeal to governments and policy makers to ensure they meet the targets they have agreed to in the fight against HIV and AIDS. But it is also a reminder that a commitment to stop AIDS must occur at all levels: personal, community, organizational and governmental.
According to UNAIDS estimates, there are an estimated 33.0 million people living with HIV worldwide. An estimated 2.7 million people were newly infected in 2007, while an estimated 2 million people died of AIDS in 2007.
Around 95 per cent of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations, but HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.
HIV/AIDS is not just a health issue. The epidemic is a development challenge. It exploits weaknesses in our societies and takes root across societal inequalities, be it gender, age or geographical. Recognizing these weaknesses and responding to them is key to an effective response.
AIDS and rural poverty
IFAD works in rural areas of developing countries to reduce the causes of the HIV/AIDS crisis and to build resilience to the impact of the disease. Recognizing that HIV/AIDS seriously affects agriculture and rural development, IFAD addresses the epidemic through its rural investment programmes. The emphasis is on strengthening the capacity of communities to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis.
