Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 28 October 2003\
Pekka Reinikainen in Munyonyo, Uganda
In 1986, some 30 per cent of pregnant women attending pre-natal clinics in Kampala were tested HIV positive. Today, Kampala clinics report an infection rate of 6.2 per cent.
"We have not done this by distributing condoms only. This is a result of a genuine change in behaviour of our population," President Museveni explained.
That change of behaviour has come about through an early response in the country to the epidemic and openness in dealing with the disease and so taking control and leadership of the situation. It helps explain why Uganda has had singular success in its efforts to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. It also makes Uganda an appropriate place to hold this conference û with its theme of "The Dawn of New Positive Leadership".
The five day conference of positive people, jointly organised by the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+) and the National Guidance and Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda (UGEN+), brings together 800 people from across the globe to address issues such as HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination, how to reduce the vulnerability of women to the disease, the growing number of orphans and the long-struggle to gain access to antiretroviral treatment û all of this under the theme of leadership.
Those attending are individuals, community leaders and people sponsored by various organisations involved in the HIV/AIDS response, such as the International Federation, which has sent a delegation of more than 20 people from all over the world.
It's a long way forward from the first ever such conference, held in 1985, which brought together nearly 50 people almost secretly so as to avoid discrimination and stigma.
"We have come a long way since those days. Today, hundreds of delegates can openly enter Uganda, be greeted by the president of the country and take a genuine leadership role in matters concerning HIV and AIDS, instead of in a cloak and dagger manner," says Dorothy Odhiambo, of the International Federation's regional delegation in Nairobi and Master of Ceremonies at the opening of the conference.
In a powerful address she pledged that the positive community of the world would eventually be able to say that "we have defeated AIDS and that AIDS has not defeated us."
For many of the Red Cross and Red Crescent delegation, this conference is a new and valuable experience.
"For me, this is the first time at such a conference," says Elkhair Osman Ali, chairperson of the first ever Sudanese organisation for people living with HIV and AIDS and a relatively new volunteer to the Sudanese Red Crescent Society. "For the first time in the Sudan, we now have a chance to talk, a chance to break the silence, fight stigma, push back discrimination," he adds.
As well as discussing important issues, the conference is also an opportunity for participants to share experiences and to realise they are not alone and that there is a global family to which they belong.
"The whole world is here," says Ruth Musiego, a community health worker and Red Cross volunteer from Mombasa, Kenya. Her eyes shine as she speaks.
For Major Rubaramira Ruranga, chairperson of the conference, such gatherings have very tangible results at both a human and global level.
"The turning point of my life as a positive person was attending the Acapulco conference for people living with HIV and AIDS. There I witnessed first hand the fact that you do not need to die of AIDS the moment you hear that you are positive. There is life out there for you. I do genuinely believe that living positively has kept me alive. I will most probably die of old age, not AIDS," he insists.
It's an important message to share. As is one on not giving in to HIV-related stigma and discrimination.
"I appeal to HIV positive people still hiding their status: your house is on fire and the only way you can save yourselves is to come out in the open," he says.
At least 8,700 people are thought to die each day from AIDS. Most of the 44 million people who are HIV positive in the world are unaware of their status. For those that are, the stigma and discrimination attached to the disease make them fearful of stating it to the outside world. The result - the epidemic continues to be fuelled and more people die. This conference hopes it will help to change that.
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