Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bay Area Reporter - November 29, 2007
Heather Cassell, h.cassell@ebar.com
"Unquestionably, we are beginning to see a return on investment - new HIV infections and mortality are declining and the prevalence of HIV leveling," said UNAIDS Executive Director Dr. Peter Piot in a statement. "But with more than 6,800 new infections and over 5,700 deaths each day due to AIDS, we must expand our efforts in order to significantly reduce the impact of AIDS worldwide."
Paul De Lay, director of evidence monitoring and policy for UNAIDS added, according to the release, that the "report shows that overall global declines are partly attributed to strong treatment and prevention programs."
The news adds more steam for UNAIDS' World AIDS five-year campaign "Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise," that focuses on promoting community leadership to continue reducing transmission of HIV/AIDS.
This year's World AIDS Day theme "Take the Lead" highlights "both the political leadership needed to fulfill commitments that have been made in response to AIDS - particularly the promise of universal access to treatment, prevention, care and support - and celebrating the leadership that has been witnessed at all levels of society," according to a November 13 press release. Free resources are available on the UNAIDS Web site as well as a calendar of events that organizations around the world have posted.
For more information, visit: http://www.worldaidscampaign.info/static/en/wac/world_aids_day__1 /world_aids_day_2007/take_the_lead_get_involved_wad_2007/
The Bay Area and other locales will commemorate World AIDS Day - Saturday, December 1 - with the following events:
AIDS grove
The National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park will hold its 14th annual observance, with the theme "Many Faces of AIDS" December 1 from noon to 2 p.m. The event will honor Ruth Brinker, founder of Project Open Hand, the country's first food service organization for people living with AIDS, with its HIV/AIDS Service Award.
The celebration will feature keynote speaker Charles King, president of New York's Housing Works, the largest community-based AIDS service organization in the United States that provides a full range of services to PWAs. The Reverend Maureene Bass of Unity Church of San Francisco will lead a guided meditation of hope, renewal, and remembrance, and pianist Naomi Sanchez will accompany vocalist Shannon Day.
Wells Fargo will be presented with the Donor Appreciation Award for its decision in the early days of the epidemic to provide funding to a number of AIDS causes. It has helped fund the grove's World AIDS Day observances.
The grove was created by a group of San Franciscans devastated by feelings of loss, searching for a place to remember friends and family lost to AIDS. The nearly all-volunteer constructed, landscaped, and maintained grove was designated a national memorial in 1996.
The grove is located in the eastern end of Golden Gate Park at the intersection of Bowling Green and Middle Drive East, across from the tennis courts.
For more information, visit www.aidsmemorial.org.
Red Ribbon party
If a pre-World AIDS Day after-work cocktail doubling as a donation to the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation suits you, head over to the Harbor Court Hotel today (Thursday, November 29).
The Kimpton Hotels' Red Ribbon cocktails event at the hotel, 165 Steuart Street, from 6 to 8 p.m. will provide light food with entertainment and a silent auction. Admission is a $5 donation that includes a drink ticket. For more information or to RSVP, contact David Paisley at (415) 737-3800 or david@communitymarketinginc.com.
Marin AIDS Project
The Marin AIDS Project will host a display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt through December 1 at locations around Marin County.
Today (Thursday, November 29) the display is from 2 to 5 p.m., at the Canal Welcome Center, 141 Alto Street, San Rafael. On Friday, November 30, quilt panels will be on display from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Pickleweed Community Center, 50 Canal Street, San Rafael.
The observance will end December 1 with a ceremony to honor local leaders at the Town Center Mall in Corte Madera, from noon to 3 p.m. Sections of the quilt will be on display during the ceremony.
Cleve Jones created the AIDS quilt in 1987 with a single 3-foot by 6-foot panel as a memorial to his friend Marvin Feldman. In recent years, Jones has been embroiled in a dispute with the Names Project, which oversees the quilt, and he attempted to establish a separate entity in San Francisco that would maintain some of the panels. That effort, however, to date has not materialized. Today the quilt is composed of 47,000 individual panels, each one commemorating someone who has died of AIDS.
For more information, visit www.aidsquilt.org. For information about the Marin AIDS Project, visit www.marinaidsproject.org.
SFAF program
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation and its affiliated Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, in partnership with the Asia Society and the UCSF Women's Global Health Imperative, will host a panel discussion today (Thursday, November 29) on the global exchange of experience and best practices in the development of successful HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs. Entitled "From Local Knowledge to Global Solutions," panelists include: Thomas Cai, founder of AIDS Care China; Julia Martin, master's of health science, vice president of programs for Pangaea; and Nancy Padian, Ph.D., director of the UCSF Women's Global Health Imperative and senior director for prevention at Pangaea. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa, vice president of global affairs for Pangaea.
The forum takes place at the San Francisco Public Library, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin Street (at Grove), from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. with a reception immediately following. Admission is free but space is limited. Those interested in attending should call (415) 487-3073. For more information, visit http://www.sfaf.org.
Beaded art sale
Vital Life Services, which serves PWAs in the East Bay, has partnered with Monkeybiz for a one-day sale of handcrafted beaded South African art. Items range from intricate tree ornaments to whimsical animals and dolls that stand three feet tall.
Vital Life has been providing services to people living with HIV/AIDS the East Bay for 20 years.
Monkeybiz, is a Cape Town, South Africa-based economic empowerment project for disadvantaged women. The nonprofit works with more than 450 township women, providing glass beads for them to create their designs. The individually made artwork creates income for the women to care for their families.
The sale will be held at Vital Life, at 5720 Shattuck Avenue at 57th Street in Oakland, December 1, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Proceeds will benefit Vital Life and Monkeybiz. For more information, visit www.vitalcalifornia.org or call Peggy Bush, Vital Life executive director at (510) 325-1493.
SF art exhibit
The San Francisco LGBT Community Center, in partnership with the Queer Cultural Center, will host a building-wide art exhibition and event commemorating World AIDS Day.
On display will be local artist Rudy Lemcke's solo exhibit "Picturing AIDS: 1986-1996," a survey of more than 100 pieces of work created during the height of the AIDS epidemic.
The exhibit also features a premiere of Lemcke's new video, "Where the Buffalo Roam," and a live performance, "(UN)Touchability: HIV and the Queer Community," by Brent Armendinger, Justin Chin, Lemcke, and Kirk Read.
Lemcke's work has been exhibited nationwide, including the 1991 Whitney Biennial as part of Group Material's AIDS Timeline; the Grey Art Gallery's Media to Metaphor (Art about AIDS) exhibition; and a 1992 World AIDS Day performance at the DeYoung Museum.
Saturday's live performance begins at 3:30 p.m. with a reception following from 5 to 7 p.m. The event is free. The exhibit will be on display through January 15.
Bike ride
Members of Positive Pedalers will join in a worldwide simultaneous 27-mile bike ride hosted by Until There's A Cure Cycling Team.
Each mile of the ride represents one year of the epidemic. This year's ride is in honor of Caleb Glover, an HIV-positive boy who made national news when he was denied access to Alabama's Wales West RV Resort swimming pool in July.
Locally, cyclists will ride from San Francisco to Mill Valley and back. Other cities participating in the event include: Los Angeles, Portland, Tucson, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Montreal, London, and Sydney.
Positive Pedalers is a group made up of people living with HIV/AIDS who are committed to eliminating the stigma of disease through positive public example. Most of its members live in California. Funds raised will benefit AIDS/LifeCycle and other rides. For more information, visit www.pospeds.org.
Until There's A Cure is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating HIV/AIDS by raising awareness and funds for vaccine development, care services, and youth education. For more information, visit www.until.org.
Riders will gather at McLaren Lodge, 501 Stanyan Street, in Golden Gate Park on December 1 at 7:15 a.m. and will leave at 8.
Wellness fair
The San Francisco Department of Public Health's HIV Prevention Section will host a Health, Wellness, and Prevention Fair as one of the city's events to commemorate World AIDS Day.
The fair is to promote HIV prevention through overall health and wellness. Community members will be able to access a variety of health and prevention services, including HIV testing, STD screening, hepatitis A and B vaccination, flu shots, massage, acupuncture, and other wellness promoting interventions. Representatives from San Francisco's health care community will be on hand to meet people and provide them with information, including assistance to accessing city programs and services.
The fair will be at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, 4235 19th Street, December 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information, contact Doug Sebesta at (415) 554-9031 or douglas.sebesta@sfdph.org.
Humboldt County summit
The Humboldt County AIDS Task Force, in partnership with 11 local agencies and organizations, will sponsor a two-day HIV/AIDS summit that will feature music, education, panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and a candlelight vigil.
An appetizer and dessert reception hosted by Gamma Alpha Omega Sorority Inc. will kick off the first day of the summit, Friday, November 30. The reception will feature speakers; a performance by Spare Change, a group of local teen advocates who promote comprehensive sexuality education through theater; and music by Mike McLaren.
The music will continue Saturday, December 1 with Earl Thomas and the True Gospel Singers performance and the exhibit of quilt panels. A candlelight vigil down F Street to Old Town will follow immediately after the concert.
Live chat
The International Women's Media Foundation's Maisha Yetu project will host a live chat with African media leaders and experts discussing the role of media in the fight against HIV/AIDS and mapping out strategies to help journalists ensure that media outlets highlight AIDS and related issues in their coverage.
Panelists include: Dr. Poloko Kebaabetswe, clinical research scientist, Botswana; Mary Odhiambo, National Women's Organization, Kenya; Sheila Tlou, minister of health, Botswana; members of the Parliament's HIV/AIDS Committee, Botswana; and representatives of Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization, a non-governmental organization that deals with women's rights and gender equality, Kenya. The discussion will be moderated by Otula Owuor, Maisha Yetu trainer for Kenya and Beata Kasale, Maisha Yetu trainer for Botswana.
The International Women's Media Foundation is a global network of more than 130 countries dedicated to strengthening the role of women in the news media as a means to further freedom of the press.
The live chat will be held December 3 from 5 to 7 a.m. Pacific standard time. To join the chat, visit http://iwmf.chatspace.com. (Web site is not accessible prior to the chat.)
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