This is an issue that our great-grandchildren will judge us by. They will ask: 'What did you do to stop AIDS?' - Bono

Africa is a continent known for its untouched treasures: vast beauty, deep history and rich culture. It is also a land struggling with famine, poverty, debt and an AIDS epidemic.

Over 17 million Africans have died from AIDS (2 million Africans have died from AIDS in 2003). Currently, more than 30 million Africans are infected with HIV, and many have co-infections such as TB, Kaposi's Sarcoma (a form of cancer), thrush, pneumonia, etc. Over 40 million people are HIV-positive around the world, and there is still no cure for HIV/AIDS. Within sub-Saharan Africa, 6,500 people die of AIDS each day and over 70,000 HIV-infected infants are born each year. Fewer than 1% of pregnant women in heavily affected countries have access to services aimed at preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission. Any 15-year old living in sub-Saharan Africa has a 33% chance of contracting HIV and dying of AIDS, and this increases to 66% in some African countries. Additionally, widespread poverty prevents many infected Africans from affording both diagnosis and treatment for HIV/AIDS. This means that many HIV-infected people don't know that they are infected, because there is limited access to testing facilities. People have no incentive to know if they are infected, since there is no affordable treatment available. With hope comes action. In the final months of 2003, the South African government decided to establish a national treatment program and the Clinton Foundation negotiated a price reduction for some developing countries. The price reduction will halve the cheapest anti-HIV (antiretroviral) treatment cost to US$132 per patient per year. Until now, the price of first-line treatment ranged between US$270 to US$593 per patient per year. Even though the cost of a PlayStation 2 would provide a patient with enough antiretroviral drugs for an entire year, only 75,000 of the 30 million HIV-positive Africans have access to antiretroviral drugs. Depending on which combination of antiretroviral drugs is chosen, it can cost up to US$10,000 a year to delay the breakout of AIDS in an HIV-infected patient in Western Europe or North America.

Within developing nations, only 400,000 people living with HIV/AIDS are receiving antiretroviral treatments, with the majority of them living in Brazil. Brazil is currently the only developing country that has implemented universal access to antiretroviral drugs. Uganda, Botswana and Zambia have government-run antiretroviral treatment programs with limited reach, but will be scaling up services over the next few years.

The AIDS epidemic is not limited to only Africa and Brazil. In 2003, Health Canada stated that the rate of HIV infection rose in Toronto, and that more than 30% of HIV-positive Canadians do not know that they are infected. How many Canadians know their HIV-status? Over 250,000 North Americans do not know that they are infected with HIV, and more than half of new infections are among people under the age of 25. Asia (India/China) and Eastern Europe are currently in the initial stage of an HIV epidemic, and will be in a similar situation as Africa within the next 5-10 years if there isn't an immediate response. Between 1995 and 2003, Eastern Europe and Central Asia have seen a rise in HIV-positive individuals from 30,000 to more than 1.5 million people (with 230,000 newly infected individuals in 2003).

KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa, and has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world (more than 1/3 of the population is infected with HIV; imagine living in a city where one in every three people you meet on the street could be living with HIV). The Zulu tribe originated from the region, and is known for their beadwork, which remains a tradition in parts of the province.

The Sinikithemba House is an HIV/AIDS support group at the McCord hospital in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Each of the beaded items displayed in the attached catalogue was made by members of the HIV/AIDS support group at the McCord hospital. The Sinikithemba House sells its beadwork as a form of fundraising, with 50% of the money raised going towards covering the cost of antiretroviral treatment for patients in need, and the remaining 50% going towards social programs (such as baking and sewing lessons); keep in mind that many families have lost parents to AIDS. The Sinikithemba House also has a choir, which travels internationally to raise funds and awareness of HIV/AIDS.

For additional fundraising ideas:

hope.hivrelief.com

This website was launched: January 10, 2004

Printed: