Fighting HIV/AIDS- A time to act

Today more than ever, we are challenged.

We have a problem: AIDS is killing our dream, our future, our youths, our mothers, our fathers, our favourite friends and relatives, our neigbours and strangers. It’s an epidemic without boundaries.

It is eroding the very moral, social, psychological and infrastructural fabric that we and our fore parents have toiled so hard to bring to the fore. It’s defying our mere existence and our right as human beings- the right to live.

My friends, it’s time we act, willingly, collectively and decisively.

Can you imagine, a world where the life expectancy is under 35 years, our schools and universities converted to hospitals, play grounds into cemeteries. It seems pretty scary. But startling are the statistics that prove that such is not impossible. According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35

Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations. An estimated 1.7 million people are living with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean, including the estimated 140,000 who became infected during 2007. Almost half died of AIDS in the same year.

AIDS is one of the biggest problems facing the world today and nobody is beyond its reach. Everyone should know the basic facts about AIDS.

A concerted effort is needed by all to increase the awareness, reduce stigmatization and discrimination in order to combat the global phenomenon.

Remember, history will judge us on how we respond to the AIDS emergency....whether we stood around with watering cans and watched while the whole world burst into flames....or not.

How many more cases do we have to get, in order for us to wake up?

My friends, it’s time to act.

Combatting HIV & AIDS stigma and discrimination

HIV&AIDS stigma and discrimination, in essence, is a challenge to one’s humanity. It exemplifies that a stigmatized person is one whose social identity or membership in some social category, calls into question his or her full humanity. It also interferes with attempts to fight the AIDS epidemic as a whole.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon says "Stigma remains the single most important barrier to public action. It helps make AIDS the silent killer, because people fear the social disgrace of speaking about it. It is one of the main reasons why the AIDS epidemic continues to devastate societies around the world"

A country’s laws, rules and policies regarding HIV&AIDS can have a significant effect on the lives of people living with HIV&AIDS. Discriminatory practices can alienate, ostracize and also reinforce the stigma surrounding the disease. Even governments too actively discriminate against people or communities with (or suspected of having) HIV&AIDS.

Some examples include: restricting people with HIV & AIDS from entering the country, Compulsory testing and the Deportation of expatriates

Stigmatization exists everywhere and can affect anyone. Even in your very own communities, these behavioral patterns exist. Community level stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV&AIDS is found all over the world. A community’s reaction to somebody living with HIV&AIDS can have a huge effect on that person’s life.

Community-level stigma and discrimination can be manifested in different forms such as rejection, verbal and physical abuse. In extreme circumstances it has been extended to acts of violence and murder.For example, in December 1998, Gugu Dhlamini was stoned and beaten to death by neighbours in her township near Durban, South Africa, after speaking openly on World AIDS Day about her HIV status.

The way forward: We can fight stigma. Enlightened laws and policies are the key. But it begins with openness. Our institutions should teach respect and understanding. The media should condemn prejudice and use its influence to advance social change in every ambit.

However, no policy or law on its own can effectively combat HIV&AIDS related discrimination on its own. The fear and prejudice that lie at the core of the HIV&AIDS discrimination need to be tackled at the Government, community and employment levels. A more enabling environment needs to be created to increase the visibility of people with HIV&AIDS as a 'normal' part of any society.

the onus is on us to reverse the trend of this dogma and to be more conscientious of its adverse impacts on the lives of our peoples. It starts with us.

who will be the next "Barack Obama" of the world?

When President Elect Barack Obama takes to the stage on January 20, 2009 to be officially installed as the 44th American President he would be the first African American to assume the Oval Office.

This in essence represents the epitome of the vision of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech "I have a dream" when he told us of his dream of People being judged by the content of their character and not by the colour of their skin. Notwithstanding the intrinsic importance of this historical passage, Barack's ascendancy would have provoked a revolution, a youthful revolution of "catalysts for change."

He inspires and encourages, defiling the odds and proving the inevitable. In his mind it's not about political correctness but rather what's needed. At the pinnacle of this debacle that we face on the world stage, HOPE is the choice word uttered by many, yet assured by few.

But, whether it is David Miliband of Britain or Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica, we need to be the change we want to see. As Mr. Carl Duivenvoorden said "Maybe you can't change the whole world, but you can change your corner of it. And when you change your corner, you actually change the world."

I implore all humanity to do as President Kennedy asked: ask not what the world can do for you, but what you can do for the world and humanity.

Rising food prices and the insatiable demands

The world stood appalled as the global food crisis unfolded. The prices for the main staples skyrocketed, nations in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean stood motionless. Suddenly many producers grappled to cash in on the high prices which were accentuated by the natural disasters that wiped out many crops of the developing world.

Many world leaders who thought the agricultural market to be so uncertain and a risky investment adventure felt the brunt of its force. Now we are forced to reconciled with the fact that we are facing a global phenomenon and urgent policies and directions are needed.

What can we do granted our limited resources, poor infrastructures, misguided rural and urban development policies? the onus lies upon the governments to introduce best practices in the agricultural sectors, install co-operatives, spearhead development and innovative technologies and reduce subsidies.

The infant industries of the Caribbean are heavily dependent on the taste buds of the North and the West. It is time we diversify our markets and pursue a pro-South trade policy. This in my opinion will aid in securing the not so volatile markets, diversifying our product mix while benefiting from more preferential market access.