PHA-Exchange> U.N. Report Outlines Devastating Cross-Sectoral Impact of AIDS

[Claudio]

From: "Dieter Neuvians MD" <neuvians at mweb.co.za>
>
> U.N. Report Outlines Devastating Cross-Sectoral Impact of AIDS
>
> A report released yesterday by the U.N. Population Division of
> the Department of Economic and Social Affairs said HIV/AIDS will
> continue to have devastating consequences for decades to come for
> virtually every sector of society and that in many countries the
> disease is undermining achievements of the U.N. Millennium Devel-
> opment Goals.
>
> Download "The Impact of AIDS" as Adobe PDF file (108 pp. 4.2 MB!):
>
http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/AIDSimpact/AIDS_PAPER_PART_ONE
.pdf
>
> The Impact of AIDS documents the effects of HIV/AIDS on families
> and households, agricultural sustainability, business, the health
> sector, education and economic growth. More than 42 million peo-
> ple worldwide are now living with HIV/AIDS. To combat the spread
> of the disease, the report calls for strong national leadership,
> increased resources, prevention services and improved strategies
> for treatment and care of the afflicted (U.N. release, Oct. 21).
>
> There was also some encouraging HIV/AIDS news yesterday. BBC Bra-
> sil reported that the number of HIV infections in South Africa
> declined for the first time, according to a study published by
> the African Journal of AIDS Research. Researchers documenting a
> drop in the HIV infection rate among South Africans aged 15-49
> over the last six years projected a prevalence rate in 2010 of
> 15.2 percent. The rate in 2001, by comparison, was 17.3 percent
> (BBC Brasil, Oct. 21).
>
> Also, speaking in London, former South African president Nelson
> Mandela and members of the rock bands the Eurythmics and Queen
> launched 46664, a new AIDS awareness service. The organization's
> name is taken from Mandela's prison number during his 18 years on
> South Africa's Robben Island. Callers to the group's phone ser-
> vice and visitors to its Web site http://www.46664.com/ can make
> donations and hear a new song about Mandela, penned by some of
> rock and roll's leading figures (Paul Majendie, Reuters, Oct. 21)
>
>
> Another gain came yesterday when the U.S. Centers for Disease
> Control and Prevention announced it will commit $15 million over
> five years to establish a Global AIDS Program office in Beijing
> as part of efforts to combat the spread of the disease in China.
> According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Preven-
> tion, HIV/AIDS is spreading at an annual rate of 30 percent
> (China Daily/China Internet Information Center, Oct. 21):