U.S. Leaders Celebrate Life on World AIDS Day

By Daniel Gorelick

Washington - For World AIDS Day, December 1, United States leaders are calling on Americans to celebrate life and commemorate those who were once dying but are now living and thriving in the fight against the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS.

The State Department encouraged its posts to mark AIDS Day 2008 by "celebrating the work of the dedicated men and women in nations affected by HIV/AIDS who are choosing life, saving the lives of their fellow countrymen and women, and creating hope for a future free of HIV/AIDS."

"On World AIDS Day, we recommit ourselves to the global challenge of combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and to showing our compassion for those affected here at home and around the world," President Bush said in a proclamation on World Aids Day.

A hospice in South Africa formerly commemorated World AIDS Day by holding a memorial to mourn those lost to AIDS. Following the introduction of anti-retroviral treatment supported by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the hospice, once filled with people dying of AIDS, began to mark World AIDS Day with a celebration of life, according to the State Department.

PEPFAR, launched in 2003, has provided $18.8 billion in HIV/AIDS funding and supports life-saving treatment for more than 1.7 million people worldwide, the vast majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa. PEPFAR has also supported care for more than 6.6 million people, including 2.7 million orphans and vulnerable children, and has enabled nearly 200,000 children to be born HIV-free.

On July 30, 2008, the president expanded the government's commitment to PEPFAR for an additional five years. The United States Congress has authorized up to $48 billion for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria prevention and treatment through 2013. Within its expanded mandate, the PEPFAR goal is to provide treatment for at least 3 million people, prevent 12 million new infections and offer care for 12 million people, including 5 million orphans and vulnerable children.

"The American people are privileged to be working hand in hand with the people of the world - including governments, nongovernmental organizations such as faith- and community-based organizations, and the private sector - to build systems and to empower individuals, communities and nations to tackle HIV/AIDS," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a 2007 statement.

THE GLOBAL PROBLEM

A global survey conducted by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS estimates there are 33 million people in the world carrying the virus, with 2.7 million new infections in 2007.

A World AIDS Day statement from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) emphasized the agency's ongoing research in HIV infection, HIV-associated opportunistic infections, malignancies and other complications surrounding the disease.

NIH, the world's largest public investor in AIDS research, also continues a multipronged effort to develop a vaccine against the disease. At the same time, scientists continue work to identify new and better drugs with fewer complications to treat patients.

Another important area of ongoing research is the development of innovative prevention strategies. Inventing a safe and effective microbiocide is one important area of research, as scientists strive to give women a method of protecting themselves from infection during intercourse.

In an Ask America webchat scheduled for December 1, 2008, at 8 a.m. EST (13:00 GMT), Dr. Amita Gupta will discuss the impact of HIV/AIDS, the fight against it and the treatments for it, paying particular attention to anti-retroviral treatment and the management of opportunistic infections, such as tuberculosis, that plague those infected with AIDS. (See "Global Health Specialist Will Talk About World AIDS Day ( http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2008/November/20081121184428ihecuor7.747829e-03.html ).")

The full text of the presidential proclamation on World AIDS Day ( http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2008/November/20081128125009eaifas0.454281.html ) is available on America.gov.

Source: U.S. Department of State

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