In fact, earlier this year, Charlotte received a more than $1.4 million dollar U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HIV/AIDS grant to provide free medical care and support services for those with HIV and AIDS.
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This World AIDS Day is a ideal opportunity for us to think globally and act locally.
The center noted an increase of 27.8 percent in the number of students living compared to the same period previous year, with a total of 2,662 new case recorded.
ECDC spokeswoman Caroline Daamen said “eastern Europe” referred to the eastern part of WHO’s European Region, where the organisations said the number of new HIV cases had more than doubled in the past decade. “Conflict and disasters should not affect access to HIV services for people living with HIV”.
The cost of inaction is clear – without programmes geared toward adolescents most at risk of HIV, new infections and AIDS-related deaths will increase and the epidemic will expand.
In 1994, six United Nations agencies (WHO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF and the World Bank) got together in an effort to create a coordinated program to combat the epidemic – thus, creating the UNAIDS. One major global awareness campaign is the famous Red Ribbon campaign which has seen people from various cross-sections including politicians, musicians, Hollywood movie stars and famous TV personalities donning the red ribbon, to show concern as well letting their communities, know the dangers and plight of HIV/AIDS.
But even with the advancements in research and treatment, there is still more work to be done.
As HIV research has advanced, so has access to antiretroviral drugs.
The report also found some encouraging news, such as a 41 percent drop in new infections in Africa since the year 2000 and 34 percent fewer AIDS-related deaths in that 15-year time span. They also reported global success in preventing mother-to-child transmission of the virus.
The breathless media coverage of actor Charlie Sheen’s revelation that he has contracted HIV should serve as a stark reminder, as if we needed one, that the virus that causes AIDS is very real and still very much a threat.
While there has been some improvement in Pakistan’s response to HIV and AIDS during the last two years, the country needs to generate maximum resources to be able to minimise the existing gap in estimation and treatment. A positive diagnosis is not the end of the world: anti-retroviral treatment is effective and has changed the lives of millions of people around the world.
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At the UN General Assembly in September, world leaders endorsed the Sustainable Development agenda.
