AIDS 2008 Day 5: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

The Good

• The current President of the International Aids Society (IAS) is Julio Montaner in his inaugural speech he called on Stephen Harper by name to step up! And even better the next IAS president is Elly Katabira, the first time an African will step into the role!!!
• Amandla Ngawethu, was the call and response of a protest calling for governments to realize that poverty played a huge role in the cycle of HIV and Aids. These Xhosa/Zulu words which originated during the anti-apartheid movement simply mean “power to the people.”

The Bad

• “HIV is a virus not a crime” New laws have been enacted in some African countries that can land those who transmit the virus (knowing or unknowingly) to someone else can end up in prison. Including in cases of Mother To Child Transmission.
  
• In the US 65 per cent of Black women make up the new infections and these women are 23 times more likely to get HIV then white women.

The Ugly

• New laws in France allow police to take down personal information including sexual orientation and HIV status of any person attending any HIV/Aids organization or event. This type of anti democratic move is the worst of its kind since World War II