Newsroom

IREX Observes World AIDS Day 2003

Over Airwaves, on the Internet, and in Person, Professionals and Students Confront the AIDS Pandemic

December 1, 2003

On World AIDS Day, December 1, the IREX community from all IREX focus areas—education, Internet development, independent media, and civil society—gathered to confront the challenges of AIDS in 2003.

Worldwide in 2002, more than 42 million people lived with HIV or AIDS, more than 5 million people were newly infected, and 3.1 million people died of the disease. The epidemic has devastated family incomes and deprived developing economies of skilled workers in their prime productive years. Moreover, regions where IREX presence is greatest have been especially affected: Eastern Europe and Central Asia have the world’s fastest-growing AIDS epidemic, with 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS and 250,000 new infections in 2002. UNAIDS notes that almost 80% of new infections in the Commonwealth of Independent States from 1997 to 2002 were among people younger than 29; the World Bank warns that a widespread epidemic among working age groups could slow annual economic growth by 0.5 to 1.0% in the region, where several countries are already experiencing declining fertility rates. In 2002, Uzbekistan registered 981 new HIV infections and more HIV cases in that year alone than in all of the preceding decade.

IREX marshaled resources through many of its programs and across all of its focus areas to address HIV/AIDS issues on the occasion of World AIDS Day. A comprehensive list of World AIDS Day activities by country is available online.

Internet Development

On December 1, through its administration of the Internet Access and Training Program (IATP), IREX conducted an Internet forum entitled “Modern Techniques for Treatment and Awareness of HIV/AIDS” between Dr. Steven Oppenheimer, MD, FACP, and Ukrainian and Moldovan physicians who care for AIDS patients or conduct HIV/AIDS research. Dr. Oppenheimer has over 35 years of experience in the private practice in infectious diseases and internal medicine in northern California, where he has cared for patients with AIDS since the epidemic began in the United States in 1978. He has also directed hospital policy on HIV contagion risk within the hospital and management of medical personnel experiencing needlesticks or other potentially hazardous job-related problems.

Media

The news media play a crucial role in addressing HIV/AIDS. Citizens need to be informed about the disease, its implications for their communities, and the means of combating its spread. Ignorance poses the greatest danger. As part of the USAID-funded ProMedia program, IREX supports the production of an Albanian television program, Heroes, that promotes local civic participation by highlighting the heroic acts of local citizens. For World AIDS Day, Heroes aired a special episode that focused on Dr. Boci, a Public Health Service physician who specializes in sexually transmitted infections. After receiving specialized training in Vienna several years ago, Boci returned to Tirana and set up a special clinic for the specific purpose of diagnosing and counseling AIDS victims. In the episode, Dr. Boci and one of his associates, Dr. Zhaneta Shatri, take the crew on a visit to one of the schools, where the doctors address both HIV/AIDS and drug use. Shatri notes that due to the current lack of significant drug abuse, AIDS is not yet as prevalent in Albania as elsewhere. But as the economy continues to falter, it is feared that drug use and the sharing of needles will multiply and become a greater risk factor, since Albania is acknowledged as the center of drug trafficking to Western Europe. Boci’s proactive crusade will be seen on the 33 local television stations throughout Albania that broadcast Heroes.

Education

IREX program alumni conducted training-of-trainers seminars at high schools and universities throughout Almaty, Kazakhstan, to promote AIDS awareness, working together with representatives of the local NGO Equal to Equal, which specializes in providing training on issues such as HIV/AIDS and drug abuse. The trainers distributed red ribbons among students and guided them to up-to-date information on HIV/AIDS using Internet resources provided by IATP.

Civil Society

In observance of “Live and Let Live,” the official theme of the World AIDS Campaign 2002–2003, alumni of IREX undergraduate and graduate study programs conducted simultaneous candlelight vigils in Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Ternopil, representing the north, south, east, and west of Ukraine, on December 1. The purpose of these vigils was to increase awareness of HIV-related stigma and discrimination; gathering together not only the alumni, but also their colleagues and friends, the vigils broke the silence by confronting these and other HIV-related issues.

Participants gathered on December 1 at 6 pm. One alumnus addressed the audience, provided general information related to HIV, and conducted a brief overview of stigma and discrimination issues; a one-page handout described the effects of AIDS worldwide. Poetry was read, and participants lit candles at 7 pm in memory of those affected by HIV and as symbol of support and understanding.

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