OP-ED

Stop AIDS:  The Promise of Partnerships

Op-Ed by U.S. Ambassador John D. Rood

November 21, 2006

 

Three years have now passed since President Bush first announced his initiative to fight HIV/AIDS around the world.  The U.S. commitment of $15 billion is the largest monetary commitment to battle a single disease in history.  It demonstrates the profound depth of commitment by the President and the American people to fight HIV and AIDS around the world.  Dealing with HIV/AIDS is something that all nations must do—it is everyone’s problem.   Only by working together can we hope to defeat the scourge of HIV/AIDS.  That is why the United States is committed to supporting partnerships of committed nations, NGOs, and communities to build prevention and treatment capabilities worldwide that will allow us to defeat this scourge. 

Here in The Bahamas, the United States Embassy has partnered with the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas as well as several prominent local organizations in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  We are all working to fight the stigma of HIV/AIDS and to promote testing.  On November 21^st we unveiled the Junkanoo AIDS Quilt.  This quilt is a wonderful example of the right response to fight the stigma of AIDS.  The quilt does three things:  it commemorates those Bahamians who have died from AIDS, it moves us to think of those Bahamians living with HIV/AIDS, and it reminds us that the fight is still on against HIV and AIDS. 

The global statistics surrounding HIV are staggering.  Approximately 40 million people are living with HIV.  An estimated 15 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS.  Of the 3.1 million people that die from AIDS every year, 570,000 of those are children under the age of 15.  That is one child per minute.

Of the 40 million people living with HIV, only 25% of those are aware they even have it.  Getting tested for HIV can be a frightening thing, especially in an environment of fear and ignorance of the disease. However, knowing your status is a personal responsibility --a responsibility to yourself, your family, and your community.  To emphasize the importance of knowing your status, I will be publicly tested for HIV today at the HIV/AIDS Center in Royal Victoria's Garden.  I hope my example will inspire others to overcome their fear of the stigma of HIV and get tested.

Local efforts can not be overemphasized.  The Ministry of Health offers confidential testing and, if the test is positive, medications to combat the virus.  The National HIV/AIDS Center has built a strong partnership with the AIDS Foundation on several initiatives.  One of the most effective of those initiatives is the availability of anti-retroviral medications to HIV-positive pregnant women.  The success of that partnership is reflected in the Mother-To-Child-Transmission-Rate dropping to below 2%.  The fastest growing population of HIV infections is those ages 15-24. Estimates show that HIV prevention reaches only one out of 10 of those at risk.  These young people are our future.

Because the human impact of HIV is so devastating, the economic impact is often overlooked.  Businesses and governments have a vital interest in getting actively involved in awareness and prevention of HIV.  Their future workforces and the prosperity of their countries are at stake.  The Bahamas government and local institutions have done an exceptional job in creating a climate of prevention, care and treatment. But there is an urgent need to build on the work they've done. 

Local people around the world, in partnership with the American people, are turning the tide against HIV and AIDS in their own nations and communities.   The American people are committed to standing with the Bahamian people as partners until this fight is won.