World AIDS Day 2009: Universal Access and Human Rights

"AIDS has been such a disease of silence; in Southern Africa it is a disease that has reached almost every home and every community; every workplace and every organization, and yet it is still a disease where people are being infected silently, where people are falling ill and dying silently … Everyone knows quite a bit about AIDS and they'll give you the right answer if you ask them how it's transmitted. What we lack and are still lacking is the capacity for action."

—Edwin Cameron, HIV-positive South African Justice

Since 1988, World AIDS Day has been observed annually on December 1st to raise awareness about the HIV/AIDS epidemic around the globe. Despite dramatic increases in funding for prevention programs and treatment, HIV/AIDS continues to ravage the developing world. There are now an estimated 33.2 million people worldwide living with HIV; according to UNAIDS, roughly 68 percent of these people live in sub-Saharan Africa. Only a fraction of them have access to life-saving treatment. MORE

The theme for World AIDS Day 2009 is "Universal Access and Human Rights." Protecting human rights is fundamental to addressing the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, yet too often, the most basic human rights—the right to food, the right to healthcare—are violated. Millions of people continue to be infected with HIV every year. Abuses of human rights perpetuate the spread of HIV, putting vulnerable groups including sex workers and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people at a higher risk of infection than others. In the developing world, less than half of those in need of antiretroviral therapy are actually receiving it, and too many people do not have access to adequate care services.

AJWS supports over 70 grassroots organizations that are advocating for the health and human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. Through education, advocacy and direct service, AJWS's partners are expanding possibilities for universal access to antiretroviral treatment, providing "treatment literacy training" to help HIV-positive individuals adhere to their drug regimens, offering preventative care, assisting AIDS orphans, fighting stigma and discrimination, providing home-based care and meeting the emotional needs of children, orphans and other bereaved family members.

Jewish tradition teaches "Whoever destroys a single life, it is as though this person has destroyed an entire world; whoever saves a single life, it is as though this person has saved an entire world." – Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5. On World AIDS Day and throughout the year, AJWS's value for human life and human dignity propels our work for a just and equitable world.

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Jewish Responses to the Global HIV/AIDS Pandemic
This comprehensive educational resource offers an account of the AIDS pandemic and Jewish responses to the current situation.