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Bahamas: The United States Embassy Donates To HIV/AIDS Fight In The Bahamas
Related to country: Bahamas

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U.S. Makes Donation To HIV/AIDS Fight:
By Sasha L. Lightbourne -
Nassau, Bahamas:


The United States Embassy yesterday donated $25,000 to five local organizations to help defray the cost of fighting HIV/AIDS in The Bahamas in one of the first crucial undertakings on this front for new U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas Ned Siegel.

The five organizations that benefited were the AIDS Foundation [$5,930, the Bahamas National Network for Positive Living (BNN) [$5,000, Focus on Youth [$5,455], HIV/AIDS Secretariat [$5,000] and Youth Ambassadors for Positive Living [$4,000].

The donation came ahead of World Aids Day which will be commemorated around the globe on December 1st under the theme "Take the Lead… Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise."

"I think that the US Embassy is demonstrating their interests in helping to assist with HIV/AIDS discrimination," said Wellington Adderley, BNN representative.

"The cheques will be used to assist persons living with the disease to be more articulate in addressing a lot of the issues as it relates to HIV/AIDS. These persons will be able to attend workshops, seminars that will help empower them."

Mr. Adderley said the donation will also be used to assist with educating persons about the scourge.

Keith Kemp, representative for Youth Ambassadors for Positive Living shared the same sentiments.

"We feel good about the donation from the U.S. Embassy because it will go a long way," said Mr. Kemp.

"The donation will help to extend the youth ambassadors program into the Family Islands and also to extend educational prevention initiatives into Creole speaking communities. The three Family Islands selected are Abaco, Eleuthera and Grand Bahama."

Young people, ages 15-25, continue to be the biggest group to contract the disease, according to Director of the National AIDS Programme Dr. Perry Gomez.

Within the age group 15-20, the ratio of female to male patients is 2:1. In other age groups the ratio is 1:1, Dr. Gomez said.

"This is why it is important for us to talk with and educate the youth because they are a vulnerable group," he said.

Dr. Gomez listed other vulnerable groups as immigrants and men who have sex with men.

"It is important for you to keep getting the message out there. Sustainability is key and public education requires money," Dr. Gomez said.

The donation comes just after The AIDS Foundation held it’s annual Red Ribbon Ball in which over $50,000 was raised to assist with the purchase of a home for orphaned children living with HIV.

Local statistics show that at the end of June, there were already 155 new infections in The Bahamas.

The fear is that if this trend continues, that figure will exceed 300.

The United Nations has released its latest report on the global HIV prevalence rates.

The latest report shows that HIV prevalence, the percentage of people living with the virus, has leveled off globally and that the number of new infections has fallen, largely as a result of the impact of HIV prevention programmes.

UNAIDS has also revised its estimates of the number of people infected with HIV globally from nearly 40 million to more than 33 million with India accounting for the larger part of the decrease.

But the organization’s Executive Director Dr Peter Piot, said the figures still show that the epidemic is overwhelming and that efforts to fight the scourge must be stepped up.

More than two-thirds (68 percent) of all people infected with HIV live in Sub-Saharan Africa where more than three quarters of all Aids-related deaths occurred in 2007. Nearly 90 percent of all HIV positive children live in sub-Saharan Africa.

The UN also changed its estimate on how long it takes to die of Aids if not treated from 9 years to 11 years.

30 November 2007

November 30, 2007 | 6:02 PM Comments  0 comments

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