Prevention saves lives

Each year around World Aids Day STOP AIDS NOW! raises awareness for the fight against AIDS. This year we focus on the importance of HIV prevention, especially among youth.

Over 40% of the new infections occur among young people. This accounts for 2500 new infections every day! Evidence shows that seven out of ten youngsters living in Sub Sahara Africa lack basic knowledge on HIV and don’t really know how to prevent it. With our campaign STOP AIDS NOW! aims to keep HIV/AIDS high on the political agenda and asks the general public for their (financial) support.

Our slogan: Themba doesn’t know how to prevent HIV. You do. Prevention saves lives!

We then ask the audience for a donation by sending a text message.

What's new?

UNAIDS World AIDS Day Report
2011 a game changing year for the AIDS response
Despite difficult financial times, 2011 was a game changing year for the AIDS response with unprecedented progress in science, political leadership and results, UNAIDS states in its new report. Particular achievements were made in the scale up in access to HIV treatment, with now nearly 50% of people who are eligible for antiretroviral therapy having access to lifesaving treatment. The report also shows that new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have fallen to the lowest levels since the peak of the epidemic. New HIV infections were reduced by 21% since 1997, and deaths from AIDS-related illnesses decreased by 21% since 2005. Declines in new HIV infections are being impelled by changes in sexual behaviour, particularly in young people, and it is said that HIV treatment is having a significant impact on reducing the number of new HIV infections.
Click here to read the press release and the report.
 

AIDS-response in developing countries in crisis
The Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and Malaria will not be able to finance new programs until 2014, because of a lack of contributions by donor countries. Also existing programs are in danger. This means a direct threat to the success of the AIDS-response in developing countries. The Global Fund is the world’s largest financier of HIV-treatment.

Success of AIDS-response under threat
Earlier this week UNAIDS announced that a record number of people are receiving HIV-treatment. Thanks to treatment, these people can lead healthy lives, take care of their children and go to work. Furthermore, recent scientific research has shown that effective treatment of people living with HIV, also reduces the risk that they will transfer the virus to others. This success is now under threat, because donor governments are not (or too late) transferring their promised contributions to the Global Fund. This makes it even more difficult to reach the international agreement that calls for 15 million people living with HIV on treatment by 2015. Continue reading to learn more about the direct consequences for people living with HIV and the Role of the Dutch Government... 

The Investment Framework:
a more effective way of financing the AIDS response 

In June 2011 medical journal The Lancet published an article by international experts in which a new way of financing the AIDS response is presented: the Investment Framework for HIV/AIDS. It is the first model that can show a decline in funding of HIV programmes and services at the moment that the effect of current and future targeted investments reach a tipping point. By scaling up the things we know that work, we could see an end to children born with HIV by 2015, avert 7.4 million deaths due to AIDS and prevent 12 million new infections by 2020.
Read on to find out what the Investment Framework is all about... 

 Resources 

• Gender: we all talk about it, but do we know how to do it?
  Working on HIV from a gender transformative perspective is now trendy. But how can we change people’s gender based attitudes and behaviours? Few of us know where to start, and
  it seems like an overwhelming task. It is not easy, but with perseverance and the right tools it can be done successfully. STOP AIDS NOW! has published a new tool with hands-on instructions for groups working with communities to develop HIV prevention activities for women and girls that promote gender equality and women’s rights.
  
  The Big Picture: a guide for implementing HIV prevention
  that empowers women and girls
  is based on the experiences of participants and partners in STOP AIDS NOW!’s Gender Development Project in Kenya and Indonesia. It gets you, first, up to speed on the main gender and rights issues related to HIV. It then helps you think about how to work on HIV from a gender transformative perspective in your own context, and—using examples and case studies—how to (re-)design activities. It then provides tips on how to implement the activities, and how to monitor and evaluate them. We are eager to hear your feedback on the tool,
  please contact Jennifer Bushee at jbushee@stopaidsnow.nl and let her know what you think of it and how you have been able to use it.
 

• Are you on the right track? Six steps to measure the effects of your programme activities
  Do you work for an organisation in a developing country which focuses on young people’s sexual behaviour? Do you want to go beyond counting numbers and actually measure change in life’s of young people? If so, the STOP AIDS NOW! workbook
  "Are You On The Right Track?"  might be of great use to you.

The workbook developed by STOP AIDS NOW! is a hands-on instruction manual for developing an outcome monitoring and evaluating plan that fits your organisation’s specific situation. The Workbook demonstrates in six steps what you need to do to create your own tailor-made plan. Your outcome M&E Plan enables you to measure the achievements of your organisation’s activities related to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and HIV prevention. The results will give you insight in the effects of your work and  possible programme changes. If you would like to receive a hard copy please contact Miriam Groenhof at mgroenhof@stopaidsnow.nl. For more information about the tool and possibilities for training have a look at www.stopaidsnow.org/therighttrack.  

Upcoming events

• 15th National STI*HIV*Sex Conference, 1 December in the Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam.
  Each year, hundreds of professionals meet at the World AIDS Day conference to find the best way to respond to issues regarding sexual health, STIs and HIV, in both the Netherlands and other countries. We provide an inspirational platform for researchers, policy makers and those working in the field.

• STOP AIDS NOW! @ ICASA, 4-8 December, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  STOP AIDS NOW! is hosting a workshop on Monitoring & Evaluation of Life Skills Programmes for Youth and on guidelines on working with Young People living with HIV. Besides, we contribute to two ILO workshops on 'How to advocate for improved HIV and AIDS Workplace laws and policies" and on "Combination prevention in action: using the workplace as an entry-point". centre stage in the world of work interventions - Integrating SRHR, LGBT and HIV for improved access to services"

• 6th African Population Conference, 5-9 December, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
  Hosted by the Government of Burkina Faso and the Union for African Population Studies, the aim of this conference is to share and disseminate research evidence on population and development issues and explore ways for applying the research evidence to improve policies and programmes aimed at uplifting the well-being of people in Africa.