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The annual International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, a program of the Global Health Council, is one of the largest and oldest grassroots mobilization campaigns for HIV/AIDS awareness in the world. The Candlelight Memorial occurs on the third Sunday of every May and is led by volunteer coordinators who host memorials for their communities worldwide. Now in its 24th year, the Candlelight is meant to honor all those who have been affected by the AIDS pandemic.
But the Candlelight is much more than just a memorial. It’s also an opportunity to educate about HIV/AIDS, influence local and national policy makers, and create community dialogue about prevention, care, and treatment for the disease. It’s an occasion for coordinators to improve their community mobilization skills, partner with other organizations and professionals in their field, and find unity within a global coalition of AIDS activists.
In 2006, over 900 Candlelight coordinators planned memorials in 110 countries, reaching tens of thousands of people. The Global Health Council works with international partners to recruit and counsel community Candlelight coordinators. The Candlelight began in 1983 in the United States, at a time when little was known about HIV. Today, an estimated 25 million people have died as a result of AIDS and 40 million are currently estimated to be infected with the disease.
How the Event Works
The mobilization campaign begins officially on World AIDS Day, December 1, and ends with the Candlelight Memorial in May. In December, the Global Health Council unveils the Memorial’s theme and poster and throughout the remaining six months, works with its partners to promote the event, recruit coordinators in communities around the world, and guide them in planning their community memorials. Following the Candlelight in May, coordinators submit a brief final report describing what happened at their events, which the Council uses to publish its own annual report on the Candlelight Memorial.
Anyone can be a Candlelight coordinator. Coordinators represent a diverse group of community leaders, including community health workers, doctors, nurses, students, teachers, researchers, business people, faith and organization leaders, and concerned individuals. They also represent a diversity of organizations, including health-care facilities, foundations, universities, charities, businesses, governments, religious groups and private organizations. Once you are registered, the Global Health Council mails packets to coordinators that include a coordinator manual, posters, and other information to assist you and your team in planning the events.
Memorials can also take many forms, ranging from a gathering of students in a schoolyard to a march of thousands in city streets. Coordinators have held memorials in fields, parks, squares, buildings of faith, universities, and more. Coordinating a memorial often requires building a team of helpers to divide the labor in making a plan that fits your community, finding resources, choosing activities, inviting important guests, marketing and media coverage, and mobilizing the community. Evaluation is the final part, so that you understand the impact of the event not only on your community, but on yourself as a coordinator.
To become a Candlelight coordinator, see “Registration Form.”
HIV/AIDS Basics
HIV/AIDS is the most disastrous disease in modern times. Since HIV, the virus that causes AIDS was discovered in 1981, more than 20 million people around the world have died from AIDS and some 40 million are estimated to be infected today. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, (known as UNAIDS), of those infected more than 17 million are women and some 2 million are children. In addition, about 15 million children have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. Nearly every corner of the world has felt the impact of the disease, but especially poorer regions, where people have little access to education and health care. Sub-Saharan Africa has been particularly devastated by the pandemic, accounting for 25 million of those currently infected. AIDS has weakened economies, orphaned children, widowed parents, exhausted health systems, strained educational systems, and deepened poverty. Social stigma and discrimination against those with HIV has only made matters worse.
HIV (Human Immuno-deficiency Virus) is too small to be seen with the human eye, but powerful enough to destroy the body’s immune system which protects against diseases. HIV can lead to AIDS (Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome), which is the final stage of the disease and fatal unless treated. Because HIV/AIDS attacks immunity, the body is unable to fight other diseases, such as tuberculosis and malaria. As a result, people die from diseases related to HIV/AIDS. Since HIV is contained in body fluids, it is most often transmitted to other people through unsafe sexual practices, contaminated instruments such as reused injection needles, through unscreened blood transfusions, or from a mother with HIV to her unborn child during delivery or through breast milk. It is not passed through casual contact, such as shaking hands or kissing, or sharing food and eating utensils. While there is no cure, people can live for many years with HIV, especially if they receive treatment.
Today, 90% of those who carry the HIV virus (HIV-positive) do not know they are infected. It is not possible to tell if someone has HIV by their appearance. It is important that more people know their HIV status (whether one has HIV or not) to keep the disease from spreading. Testing for HIV is often done through VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) centers where testing is combined with counseling services both before and after the test. Testing is possible through a variety of HIV tests, including rapid tests that give results in a matter of minutes. If a test shows that a person does not have HIV (HIV-negative), counseling is still important to encourage safe behaviors that will protect against HIV.
Access to effective, safe drugs to treat HIV/AIDS is improving, but the drugs are still too expensive in many areas and for many people. Only a fraction of people who need treatment are currently receiving it. An entire field of prevention programs aims to help people remain negative through such practices as knowing one’s status, remaining faithful to one partner and using condoms. A new type of contraceptive technology called microbicide's are under development and may be available in a few years. These would be prevention methods that women can use to protect themselves.
Researchers are continuing to search for a cure for AIDS, and are conducting vaccine trials all over the world. Leaders are coming together worldwide to fight the AIDS pandemic; however, there is still a long way to go to reduce the costs of medicines, educate communities and health-care workers, improve health systems that deliver prevention and treatment, and motivate political leaders to enact effective policies, including those that address the stigma and discrimination that still fuel the AIDS epidemic. |
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HOW I CAN CHANGE NIGERIAN YOUTHS - Posted By: CHISOMAGA
November 30, 2007 @ 13:07:47 | 1 comments | post a comment
AWARENESS - Posted By: CHISOMAGA
November 28, 2007 @ 12:07:14 | 0 comments | post a comment
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CLC-West Africa- Nigeria Project
Creating Local Connections West Africa (CLC WA) aims to realize the potential of youth and engage them as development actors in the improvement of their communities, countries, and region. CLC WA will achieve this through peer-led trainings, networking, national youth meetings, media creation,...
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