World AIDS Day focuses on women

Females are world's fastest rising group amongst those infected with the HIV virus

On Wednesday, December 1st, HIV and AIDS sufferers the world over, in tandem with family, friends and supporters of their cause, come together to commemorate World AIDS Day. It's a time to reflect on those who have died, celebrate victories that have been made and plan for the continuing fight against AIDS worldwide.
With the number of people living with HIV and AIDS rising to 40 million in 2003, AIDS is becoming the greatest tragedy in human history. It took three million lives in 2003 alone, and the number of people infected with the disease is expected to exceed 80 million by 2010 unless significant progress is made to stop current trends.
Coordinated by the London, UK based National AIDS Trust, World AIDS Day is now in its 17th year. It originated out of an international summit of health ministers that took place in London in 1988. Each year there is a special focus for the event. In 2004, the theme is Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS.
There are a number of events taking place in Toronto on December 1st. The AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) will host a community forum entitled Success Stories: Women, HIV/AIDS, and the Fight Against Stigma and Discrimination. The event, which focuses on the plight of Toronto women living with HIV/AIDS, consists of a panel discussion amongst community workers who are helping women cope with the disease. Speakers include Dr. Alan Li of the Regent Health Park Centre and Esther Tharao of Women's Health in Women's Hands.
There will also be a multimedia presentation featuring photos taken by African and Caribbean women living with HIV/AIDS. The women are part of a social support group called "The Kitchen," where women get together and prepare food and go on outings. ACT's Tania Smith, who organizes the event, says she finds The Kitchen helps the women of these communities more than the formal support groups she's tried in the past.
"I don't want to say it's a more natural setting, but it seems to put issues in a context they're more familiar with," she says. For various reasons, some of the women find it difficult to communicate how they feel and what challenges they're facing. So the group came up with the idea of going out and taking photos of things that represent stigma and discrimination to them personally.
HIV diagnosis in women has risen sharply in the past decade. Between 1985-1997, women accounted for 12 percent of all HIV diagnoses in Canada. By the years 2001-2003 (the most recent statistics), that number had more than doubled to 25 percent. The numbers for the GTA are virtually identical - 11.4 percent in the mid-80s versus 25 percent today. Amongst the newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS sufferers, one group is highly over-represented: women from so-called HIV-endemic countries, places where AIDS has reached epidemic levels. The use of the term epidemic to describe the AIDS situation in Sub-Sahara Africa is in no way euphemistic. In Botswana it's now estimated that 37.3 percent are infected. Lesotho (28.9 percent), Swaziland (38.8 percent) and Zimbabwe (24.6 percent) are other extreme cases. The large state of South Africa - approximately 50 million - is only slightly better, at 21.4 percent.
But Smith cautions that the over-representation of women from such high-risk regions can be misleading. Because these women are lumped in with other groups that are perceived as high risk - especially sex trade workers and intravenous drug users - healthcare workers may be unwittingly targeting them.
"The biggest problem in estimating the rate of HIV/AIDS amongst women is the perception of risk," says Smith. "There's an increasing number of women in apparently monogamous relationships who are testing positive." This could result from partners having sex with others (men or women) or partners using intravenous drugs. She adds that in some cases women are not open with doctors about their sexual history or drug use, which can also divert attention away from potential risk.
She added that the theme of stigma and discrimination against women with HIV/AIDS is a familiar topic for the AIDS community. "Gay men are often surprised to hear these women are facing the same prejudices they faced 20 years ago." These prejudices range from misunderstandings about how the disease is spread to stereotyping those who are HIV-positive (especially as sexually promiscuous or drug users).
"Discrimination discourages women from talking about their HIV status or the things that put them at risk for HIV. It discourages them from getting tested and seeking treatment. This, in turn, decreases their quality of life and increases HIV infection rates," says Smith.
Success Stories will be held at Women's Health in Women's Hands, a community health centre that focuses on the needs of women of African, Caribbean, Latin American and South Asian origin. The event is planned in partnership with the following groups: Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention, Africans in Partnership Against AIDS, African Community Health Services and Voices of Positive Women. WHIWH is located at 2 Carlton St., suite 500; Success Stories takes place from 6-8 p.m.
Elsewhere in the city, the University of Toronto's Centre for International Health has organized a series of events during the week. A Human Rights Approach to HIV/AIDS: Challenges and Opportunities takes place Friday, November 26th from 1-4 p.m. at Bennett Lecture Hall (78 Queen's Park). The Value of Life, a documentary on Stephen Lewis' work as UN special envoy for AIDS/HIV in Africa, will be shown. Two panel discussions will follow, one on access to treatment, the other on protection of vulnerable groups. Panelists will be drawn from various prominent AIDS activist groups, including Human Rights Watch, ICASO (International Council of AIDS Service Organizations) and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.
More than 20 faculties of U of T will participate in the World AIDS Day Main Event. The proceedings will take place in Hart House's The Great Hall. Speakers include Ujjal Dosanjh (Federal Minister of Health), Frank Iacobucci (President of U of T), David Zakus (Director, Centre for International Health). U of T's World AIDS Day Student Committee have put together a multimedia presentation for the event, and to close the evening, a group of over 100 Faculty of Music and members of the ensemble NEXUS will perform Gahu songs and dance. (For more information on the proceedings at U of T visit http://icarus.med.utoronto.ca/CIHresearch/HIVi/WAD2004.htm).
There are several fundraisers going on in the city on World AIDS Day. The biggest is UrbanAIDS Benefit Concert, which takes place at Ricoh Coliseum on November 29. The event was spearheaded by Toronto resident and Zambia native Towa Beers, who was moved by her personal experience with the disease to take action in the fight against it. Having already lost several family members to the disease, it was the diagnosis of her seven-year-old nephew, Toanga, in December 2003 that compelled Beers to act.
Beers set to work organizing the fundraiser in the early months of 2004, going so far as to quit her job in late spring to dedicate herself full time to the project. The end result is impressive: a three-hour-long concert featuring Alicia Keys, Nelly Furtado, K-OS, Swollen Members, Keshia Chante and Soul Influence.
Profits from the event will be split between several different charities, including The Teresa Group, a Toronto-based group that deals with various institutions like the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children to help kids effected by AIDS. Another beneficiary of the event is Keep a Child Alive, which provides life-saving medicine for children and families touched by AIDS. Keep a Child Alive was founded by Alicia Keys.
But the majority of funds raised at UrbanAIDS will go to The Stephen Lewis Foundation, which focuses on helping African women and children effected by HIV/AIDS. It's estimated that nearly 60 percent or 15 million of Africa's 25 million AIDS sufferers are women. The numbers are even higher for females between 15-24 years of age, who comprise 75 percent of the total number of AIDS sufferers for that age group. An alarming offshoot of this already-horrific phenomenon is the skyrocketing rate of children who are orphaned by AIDS. According to the UK-based AIDS/HIV advocacy group AVERT, there are now over 12 million AIDS orphans in Africa. Lewis, who is the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, will be on hand for the benefit. (For more information visit www.urbanaids.com).
Another group working to help African women and children survive the wrath of the epidemic is Starfish. Focusing on South Africa, where the disease has orphaned an estimated one million children, Starfish aims to provide food, education, health care, shelter and community support for these children. A fundraiser in support of Starfish takes place at The Rivoli nightclub on December 1. The line-up includes indie rock bands The Dunes, Wren City Churches and The Honey Concept. (For more information, visit www.starfishcharity.org).

Publication Date: 2004-11-28
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4668