AIDS is no longer just a disease. It's a human rights issue - Nelson Mandela
A few facts on Debt, AIDS, Trade and Africa from the DATA-site...
Debt:
- Every year Sub-Saharan Africa spends $14.5 billion dollars repaying debts to the world’s rich countries and international institutions. Often they spend so much on debt payments that they have very little left over for health or education– in Nigeria, debt payments are eleven times higher than the national health budget. (IMF)
AIDS:
- HIV/AIDS is a virus, spread primarily by sexual contact, contaminated medical equipment like needles, or from mother to child at birth or through breastfeeding. (UNAIDS)
- Every day in Africa, 6,500 people die and another 9,500 contract the HIV virus - 1,400 of whom are newborn babies infected during childbirth or by their mothers’ milk. Africa is home to 30 million people with HIV—70% of global infections. (UNAIDS)
- More than 11 million African children have lost a parent to HIV/AIDS; this total will reach more than 20 million by 2010. (UNAIDS/UNICEF)
- Women account for 58 percent of all people in Sub-Saharan Africa infected with HIV or AIDS. (UNAIDS)
- AIDS is a preventable and treatable disease. We know what works in the fight against AIDS: Uganda, for example, got communities across the country involved in preventing AIDS and reduced its rate of infection from 15% to 5%. (USAID)
- 4.1 million African AIDS patients are in immediate need of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) but only 50,000 receive them. These drugs have a ‘Lazarus effect’ and can have patients out of bed, back at work and caring for their families within months. (WHO)
- The world is currently spending less than half the $10.5 billion annually that is needed to fight AIDS globally. (UNAIDS)
Trade:
- Africa cannot trade its way out of poverty without a level playing field. Right now, trade rules are so skewed that cows in Europe receive more every day in subsidies than half the population of Africa has to live on ($2). (Jubilee)
Africa:
-More than 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa—nearly half the population—live on less than $1 a day. This number i expected to rise to 400 million by 2015. (The World Bank)
- Africa is home to five of the world’s fastest-growing economies – but also 34 of the world's 49 poorest countries. (UNCTAD)
- In 2000, the nations of the world agreed to a set of "Millennium Development Goals" to reduce poverty, send children to school and ensure that families had access to clean water. Africa is the region least likely to meet these goals. (African Development Bank)
Development Assistance:
- In 1970, wealthy nations agreed to a goal of spending 0.7% of GNP on development assistance. Last year, these countries spent on average just 0.23%; the U.S. gives the smallest percentage of its wealth, 0.12%, to poor countries. (OECD)
And a few more links to some very good sites:
46664 - Give One Minute Of Your Life To AIDS...
UNAIDS - The Joint United Nations Programme On HIV/AIDS
Médecins Sans Frontieres
And a personal favourite
:
Pharmaciens Sans Frontieres