HIV risk rising with complacency: IFRC
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - now meeting in Bangkok - vowed yesterday to double it efforts to help countries face the rising challenge of HIV/Aids.
Delegates from the federation's 185 country offices from around the world were finalising the framework for a global alliance on HIV/Aids, said Mukesh Kapila, the Federation's Special Representative for HIV/Aids. "The Red Cross is committing itself to expanding what it does for HIV/Aids around the world and the target is to double what we're doing over the next two to three years," Kapila said, at a three-day meeting of the federation, which ends here tomorrow. At the meeting the federations' taskforce was designing the new programme on HIV/Aids, country by country and region by region, to scale up prevention of further HIV infection, expanding care, treatment and support - as well as reducing stigma and discrimination. The resources required for implementation will come partly from within the countries and from donors, which he said were mainly Western governments such as Japan and Australia. "From a global perspective, everywhere in the world has much more to do about HIV/Aids, whether it is preventing HIV or tackling the consequences", he said. South Africa, in particular, was very serious. Therefore the federation plans to launch a big new US$300-million (Bt9.7 billion) programme for southern Africa, Kapila said, adding half of the entire focus was on Africa. In Asia, what was worrying was that the actual figures of people with HIV could be much greater than the official figures, particularly in India and China, which have huge populations, he said. Moreover, he said the region was on the verge having to face HIV becoming widespread, instead of just concentrated among groups of high-risk people. "If Asia acts now, the epidemic may not get as bad as it has done in Africa," Kapila said. The problem was people become complacent and think the threat has been reduced. Thus, risky behaviour, which causes the problem, had risen. "So, our challenge is to keep on reminding people that HIV has not gone away and each generation has to start fighting over again. We have no time for complacency," he said.
Arthit Khwankhom The Nation
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