Staying alive with HIV
The AIDS-Care-Watch Campaign has a simple, yet crucial message: while the ultimate goal of universal access to antiretroviral drugs is imperative, we must protect people’s right to health and keep them alive in all possible ways. Today—World TB Day—the campaign completes its first year.
An unprecedented global civil society campaign – AIDS-Care-Watch (ACW) – launched on World TB Day 2005 [March 24] advocates an essential and hopeful message: AIDS deaths can be postponed while we wait for ARVs.
While the campaign recognises that universal access to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs is vital and must be pushed for at every level, ACW also knows that providing access to ARVs for all those who need them – or ‘universal access’ – is unlikely to be achieved before at least 2010.
In the intervening years, many people living with HIV (who need the drugs today) will fall sick and die, and will be joined by further millions. It is preventing these unnecessary deaths that have propelled over 350 organisations worldwide to band together and advocate for a wide range of care and treatment options to be made available to people living with HIV.
"Of course ARV drugs are critical to keeping us physically well – but without nutritious food, without additional therapies, and without the love and care of those who surround us, those drugs do little for us,” explains Alice Welbourn of the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW), an ACW partner.
AIDS-Care-Watch contends that AIDS-related conditions can be prevented and treated with established forms of care, support and treatment, including readily available non-ARV care and treatment options.
Many organisations have joined the campaign because they are tired of watching their friends, family and colleagues die because ARVs, and other affordable and effective care and treatment options are often not available when they are needed.
“People living with HIV/AIDS continue to die before their time because of a lack of appropriate treatment and a lack of understanding and information” said Greg Gray, former Regional Coordinator of the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+), also a partner to the campaign.
“We know only too well the importance of promoting prevention for opportunistic infections, yet still even this most basic and cost effective treatment is out of reach for many who desperately need it.”
In response to this reality, AIDS-Care-Watch provides an avenue for treatment activists and advocates worldwide to come together to advocate for a comprehensive care package for people living with HIV.
Comprehensive care for people living with HIV is not a new idea, but a unified, popular and vocal advocacy campaign to promote it is. And given the overwhelming response to the relatively young campaign, it is clearly warranted.
Each of us living with and/or working on HIV recognises that a full range of care and treatment elements is required to improve and extend our lives. Access to treatment and prevention for tuberculosis and other opportunistic infections, voluntary counselling and testing, assured food security, home and community based care, among others, are all part of the essential AIDS care package.
AIDS-Care-Watch advocates for a comprehensive package of AIDS care and treatment services under one standard. By keeping the advocacy agenda of AIDS-Care-Watch broad, it is proving relevant to most communities and appeals to activists, advocates, AIDS service organizations and people with HIV globally.
This is crucial to generating a single collective voice to influence decisions related to care and treatment at all levels. With the UNGASS review meeting, to measure the progress made against specific targets laid out in the Declaration of Commitment taking place this June [2006], an opportunity to have an impact on the future direction of AIDS care and treatment priorities is at hand.
The ACW campaign is strongly advocating that greater emphasis be placed on making a wide range of care and treatment options available for people living with HIV– particularly for those still in need of ARVs.
The basic principle of the campaign is that humanity cannot let millions of people die from AIDS-related conditions when life-saving care and treatment options exist. For the millions of people living with HIV who are not able to afford or access ARVs today, there are nevertheless many ways that their lives can be extended. The ACW campaign theme ‘Staying Alive with HIV’ is about spreading this hope.
Bobby Ramakant, ACW’s South Asia Campaign manager, is convinced that the campaign’s message of comprehensive care should become a priority for global TB and HIV programmes.
“The issues raised by the campaign got the support of so many partners – on the 365th day, we are looking to welcome our 365th partner – is evidence of how urgent and important these issues are.”
Source: Abigail Erikson, AIDS Care Watch Board Member
An unprecedented global civil society campaign – AIDS-Care-Watch (ACW) – launched on World TB Day 2005 [March 24] advocates an essential and hopeful message: AIDS deaths can be postponed while we wait for ARVs.
While the campaign recognises that universal access to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs is vital and must be pushed for at every level, ACW also knows that providing access to ARVs for all those who need them – or ‘universal access’ – is unlikely to be achieved before at least 2010.
In the intervening years, many people living with HIV (who need the drugs today) will fall sick and die, and will be joined by further millions. It is preventing these unnecessary deaths that have propelled over 350 organisations worldwide to band together and advocate for a wide range of care and treatment options to be made available to people living with HIV.
"Of course ARV drugs are critical to keeping us physically well – but without nutritious food, without additional therapies, and without the love and care of those who surround us, those drugs do little for us,” explains Alice Welbourn of the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW), an ACW partner.
AIDS-Care-Watch contends that AIDS-related conditions can be prevented and treated with established forms of care, support and treatment, including readily available non-ARV care and treatment options.
Many organisations have joined the campaign because they are tired of watching their friends, family and colleagues die because ARVs, and other affordable and effective care and treatment options are often not available when they are needed.
“People living with HIV/AIDS continue to die before their time because of a lack of appropriate treatment and a lack of understanding and information” said Greg Gray, former Regional Coordinator of the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+), also a partner to the campaign.
“We know only too well the importance of promoting prevention for opportunistic infections, yet still even this most basic and cost effective treatment is out of reach for many who desperately need it.”
In response to this reality, AIDS-Care-Watch provides an avenue for treatment activists and advocates worldwide to come together to advocate for a comprehensive care package for people living with HIV.
Comprehensive care for people living with HIV is not a new idea, but a unified, popular and vocal advocacy campaign to promote it is. And given the overwhelming response to the relatively young campaign, it is clearly warranted.
Each of us living with and/or working on HIV recognises that a full range of care and treatment elements is required to improve and extend our lives. Access to treatment and prevention for tuberculosis and other opportunistic infections, voluntary counselling and testing, assured food security, home and community based care, among others, are all part of the essential AIDS care package.
AIDS-Care-Watch advocates for a comprehensive package of AIDS care and treatment services under one standard. By keeping the advocacy agenda of AIDS-Care-Watch broad, it is proving relevant to most communities and appeals to activists, advocates, AIDS service organizations and people with HIV globally.
This is crucial to generating a single collective voice to influence decisions related to care and treatment at all levels. With the UNGASS review meeting, to measure the progress made against specific targets laid out in the Declaration of Commitment taking place this June [2006], an opportunity to have an impact on the future direction of AIDS care and treatment priorities is at hand.
The ACW campaign is strongly advocating that greater emphasis be placed on making a wide range of care and treatment options available for people living with HIV– particularly for those still in need of ARVs.
The basic principle of the campaign is that humanity cannot let millions of people die from AIDS-related conditions when life-saving care and treatment options exist. For the millions of people living with HIV who are not able to afford or access ARVs today, there are nevertheless many ways that their lives can be extended. The ACW campaign theme ‘Staying Alive with HIV’ is about spreading this hope.
Bobby Ramakant, ACW’s South Asia Campaign manager, is convinced that the campaign’s message of comprehensive care should become a priority for global TB and HIV programmes.
“The issues raised by the campaign got the support of so many partners – on the 365th day, we are looking to welcome our 365th partner – is evidence of how urgent and important these issues are.”
Source: Abigail Erikson, AIDS Care Watch Board Member
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 11:24 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home