On Monday, Dec. 8, at Harvard Medical School in Boston, community members and experts join for a landmark town meeting titled ''HIV/AIDS and the Right to Health: Leadership in the U.S. and Globally.'' The event, which commemorates World AIDS Day and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is underwritten by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) through the generosity of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and is co-organized by PHR, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts (AAC), Partners In Health, and the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights. More than 69 New England organizations, hospitals, and universities have signed on as event co-sponsors. With over 800 RSVPs to date at http://physiciansforhumanrights/..., event planners expect at least 500 in attendance.
HIV/AIDS experts, human rights advocates, community leaders, health professionals and students, and elected officials will discuss the current state of efforts to combat the AIDS pandemic both internationally and domestically -- what has succeeded, what has failed and what must happen now.
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino will open the event. PHR CEO Frank Donaghue will co-moderate the event, issue PHR's ''Call to President-Elect Obama To Fulfill the Promise of Universal Human Rights,'' and present PHR's Award for Outstanding Leadership on the Right to Health to Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA). Joseph P. Kennedy III, the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy and great-nephew of Edward Kennedy, will accept the award on the senator's behalf. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) will present a keynote address via video.
Expert presenters include: Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, M.D., Co-Pastor of Bethel A.M.E Church, Director of Sisterhood For Peace and Chairwoman of Save Darfur Coalition; Rebecca Haag, President and CEO of AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts and Executive Director of AIDS Action Council in Washington, DC and one of the chief architects and leaders who called for a National AIDS Strategy for the U.S.; and Jim Yong Kim, M.D., Director of Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights and Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. The meeting's co-moderator will be Pat Daoust, MSN, RN, Director of PHR's Health Action AIDS Campaign.
The Dec. 8, 12-1:30 p.m. town meeting -- including a discussion and question and answer period -- will take place at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur in Boston. A reception, Community Action Fair, and refreshments will immediately follow the program.
"On Human Rights Day 2008 - December 10 - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 60," said PHR CEO Frank Donaghue. "The AIDS epidemic presents a striking example of the challenges in respecting, protecting and fulfilling the right to health," added Frank. "Under President-elect Obama, America has an historic opportunity to strengthen U.S. partnerships internationally by expanding existing global health and development initiatives in the framework of human rights."
"We are heartened that President-Elect Obama's inaugural policies and issues include having a National AIDS Strategy," said Rebecca Haag, President and CEO, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts and Executive Director, AIDS Action Council. "In the U.S., we need that strategy to focus on accountability including having measurable outcomes, a timeline and adequate funding." (www.NationalAIDSstrategy.org)
HIV prevalence rates are highest among the most marginalized populations in both the US and abroad, whether they are the poor, those living in rural or indigenous communities, men who have sex with men, people of color, injection drug users, or women.
According to UNAIDS, women and young girls presently comprise more than 60% of those who are living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa - and the numbers continue to grow. Any solution to the epidemic must acknowledge the devastating gender dynamics of AIDS and place women's empowerment at the center of programming and planning.
"The US government stands at a pivotal moment in the history of HIV/AIDS and global health policy. The reauthorization of PEPFAR offers hopeful promise, if Washington commits to full funding," stated Jim Yong Kim, MD. "Globally, it is essential that AIDS prevention and treatment are provided in the context of primary care including advanced care for tuberculosis and other opportunistic infections, screening and treatment of sexually transmitted infections and an emphasis on women's health."
PEPFAR reauthorization is fully appropriated by Congress, is targeted to prevent 12 million HIV infections and treat three million people over five years.
Disclosure: I am Chief Communications Officer for PHR, and I thought you'd be interested in this joint press release by the co-organizers of the December 8 town hall. And yes, the event is free, and you're invited. To RSVP, visit http://physiciansforhumanrights/... -- jhutson