News Bureau
MSH Honors World AIDS Day 2009—Toward Universal Access and Human Rights
December 1, 2009, is the 21st anniversary of World AIDS Day. This year’s theme, “Universal Access and Human Rights,”emphasizes the commitment of global leaders to expand access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services to all people.
In honor of World AIDS Day, MSH has signed on as a member of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Testing Millions campaign which is mobilizing organizations around the world to provide free HIV tests throughout December.
MSH programs around the world are supporting this campaign and participating in other special events:
- In Haiti, the Supply Chain Management System project will provide up to 5,000 free HIV tests, and the Santé pour le Développement et la Stabilité d’Haïti (SDSH) project is organizing testing events that will be promoted on television and radio, as well as with posters, banners, signs, and T-shirts. The Leadership, Management, and Sustainability (LMS) Program will be supporting a local awareness and prevention campaign under the theme “Stop AIDS! Everyone Has the Same Rights.” LMS participated in a two-day symposium on November 28-29 organized by the Platform of Haitian Associations of People Living with HIV/AIDS that culminated in an annual March for Equality and Respect for Human Rights attended by nearly 5,000 people living with or affected by HIV & AIDS.
- In Honduras, the LMS ULAT (Local Technical Assistance Unit) team, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and other partners, is organizing activities that include marches, health fairs, vigils, and theater productions in 21 Garífuna communities.
- In Nicaragua, with USAID and other partners, the LMS PRONICASS Project is coordinating a festival in the city of Chinandega that will be the central event of a national celebration and will kick off free HIV testing throughout the city. The project is also supporting a national information campaign via film, television, radio, and print media; facilitating a meeting of the National Congress for HIV/AIDS; and partnering with municipal health directors to host a citizens’ forum to develop new HIV awareness activities.
- In Nigeria, LMS-ProACT and the Community-Based Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CUBS) will facilitate a week of events and activities focused on prevention of mother-to-child transmission and counseling and testing of couples. The events include a road show in major parks and marketplaces, an essay competition in schools, a prayer campaign in mosques and churches, a national symposium, and a public lecture and awards gala.
- Online Leadernet—a free online community of health professionals interested in improving leadership and management practices—will feature a monitoring and evaluation HIV & AIDS tool throughout the month of December: National AIDS Programmes: A Guide to Monitoring & Evaluation. The guide brings together twenty years of experience in monitoring and evaluation of HIV & AIDS programs,
Learn more about MSH’s recent accomplishments in HIV & AIDS
Read our recent position paper on taking a systems approach to HIV & AIDS programming: