World AIDS Day 2009 – We Share This Path Together
Dr. Jane Philpott, Give a Day Founder writes…My love of African proverbs is no secret. It always makes me happy to stumble on a new proverb about health or education or justice. This week I learned a new proverb from Burkina Faso that speaks to the work of the Give a Day movement. It says: “If you want to walk fast, walk alone; if you want to walk far, walk with others.”.
To reach a world without AIDS, we have to walk far. We must therefore walk the path together.
How I wish we could walk fast and see this pandemic ended immediately. Every extra day that it takes means a difference between life and death for thousands. The solutions are not simple. Clearly we need to “walk with others”. When we do work together, I’m convinced the problem of HIV is solvable.
Yesterday in this blog, Tim O’Shea wrote about the heartwrenching statistics on vertical virus transmission. He said that “The fact that transmission of the HIV virus from mother to child continues to occur at such rates at a time when we know how to reliably manage this risk should be source of shame for the entire international community.” I wholeheartedly agree. So what will it take?
It will take money… large amounts of money from the international community and smaller amounts of money raised by movements like Give a Day.
It will take political will… which is built by movements like Give a Day where ordinary people act in solidarity with people they will never meet to address an injustice that affects us all.
It will take solid infrastructure to be built and maintained in order to deliver and sustain the top-quality healthcare systems that everyone with HIV must be able to access.
It will take a concerted commitment to address all of the global issues that impact health including food security, gender equity, education and more.
We may be daunted by the magnitude of the task. But we have already come a long way. In the five years since the Give a Day movement started, the number of people in the world on antiretroviral treatment has increased by ten-fold! This has happened through extraordinary efforts of countless people around the world.
To reach a world without AIDS, we have to walk far. We share this path together.
Please engage in an act of solidarity today. Please give a day’s pay… because a day makes a world of difference.
Dr. Jane Philpott, Founder of Give a Day to World AIDS
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Dr. Jane Philpott – Why do I still believe in responding to the HIV pandemic?
Dr. Jane Philpott, Give a Day founder writes…I’ve just attended a fascinating conference in South Africa about Family Medicine in the African context. We talked for days about primary health care which is needed “now more than ever”. We talked about appalling maternal mortality rates; the tragically high under-5s mortality rates in many countries and about the ongoing shortage of health human resources in low-income countries. There was a clear consensus that many of these problems can be helped by strengthening primary care: making comprehensive and holistic care within reach of everyone.
And so I believe in the struggle to provide health for all through primary care. But in promoting the Give a Day movement, I believe there is also a time and place for focusing attention and resources on a problem like HIV whose impact on the world is of such devastating proportion that it warrants some exclusive attention.
AIDS has been a wake-up call to humanity. It has exposed the fault lines of our global society. It turns out that the social issues that drive the AIDS pandemic (gender inequity, poverty, lack of education) are not new, but AIDS has blatantly exposed the ugly injustices of our world. To address AIDS we must address much of what ails our world. The response to AIDS involves much more than treating a virus; it involves nutrition, housing, schooling and the expansion of primary care infrastructure. Finding healing for HIV will be a critical step in the healing of the planet.
If you share the vision of health for all, I hope you will join me on World AIDS Day, by giving one day’s pay to a great community-based organization that will bring hope and healing to those affected by HIV.
Published by: GiveADay on November 2nd, 2009 | Filed under Give a Day 2009, HIV/AIDS in Africa, Jane's Blog, Media, Workplace CampaignsComment now »
We’re all in this together…
The sun has set on another World AIDS Day.
You know that we’re all in this together. No person, no community, no country or continent should face the impact of HIV alone. Give a Day is an expression of global solidarity. Yes we will work together to address this pandemic. Give a Day? Yes we will.
Published by: GiveADay on December 2nd, 2008 | Filed under Jane's Blog1 Comment »
22 days until World AIDS Day
There are only 22 days to go until World AIDS Day. Did you know that there are 22 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa infected with HIV? The courage and suffering of those 22 million people can never be adequately enumerated or explained.
At the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City in August of this year, Gregg Gonsalves said: “All of us who believe not just in the struggle for AIDS treatment, but for health for all, for comprehensive healthcare, need to make a commitment today to become activists in any way you can.”
YOU can become an activist in your own community of influence. You can challenge your friends and colleagues to give a day’s pay on World AIDS Day. You have 22 days left to share the idea. Let’s work together toward a world without AIDS!
Published by: GiveADay on November 9th, 2008 | Filed under Jane's Blog1 Comment »
Give a Day ‘07 is… working together toward a world without AIDS
We await the final total for Give a Day (GAD) 2007, as there will still be donations up until December 31. But I am very happy to say that GAD’07 donations are well over $600,000!
This amount of money will bring immeasurable relief to thousands of people who are affected daily by HIV and AIDS. It also signifies that thousands of Canadians are actively engaged in the response to the AIDS pandemic.
The success of GAD has at least two indicators. The first is the mobilization of financial resources to fund the extraordinary work of the recipient organizations. The second is the critical role of GAD in spurring on the Canadian dialogue about AIDS in the world. We had amazing media coverage this year. The story of GAD was shared on all the major Canadian television networks and several radio stations. Information sessions about the AIDS pandemic and the GAD response were held in law firms, hospitals and service clubs.
Why does this matter? It matters, because, like all complex global problems, AIDS cannot be defeated by individuals – not by individual nations, or individual continents. The story; the suffering; and the solutions must be shared. This crisis is a call to global collective efficacy – that is the power of working together to bring an end to AIDS. GAD is a stirring Canadian expression of solidarity in this global challenge.
Thanks for your generous response. We are proud to say that GAD has brought new meaning to World AIDS Day in Canada. Get ready for GAD’08. Give a Day is here to stay!
Published by: GiveADay on December 27th, 2007 | Filed under Jane's BlogComment now »
Thoughts on the morning of World AIDS Day 07
In Canada, it is the dawn of World AIDS Day 2007. In Africa, Europe and Asia World AIDS Day ’07 the day is now well spent. I find myself wondering what the day has been or will be like for the estimated 33 million people around the globe who are infected with HIV. Some of the 33 million are my friends. Perhaps some are friends of yours.
I wonder about those who have AIDS today and have not been able to access anti-retroviral medication. Many will die today from this treatable infection.
I’m reminded of a song from Les Miserables…
Oh my friends, my friends forgive me
That I live and you are gone
There’s a grief that can’t be spoken,
There’s a pain goes on and on…
The pain of AIDS does go on and on. It goes on in the lives of millions of children whose parents are gone. The pain goes on in workplaces where no one can replace a colleague who has died from AIDS. And in the hearts of grandparents who see their adult children predecease them and are left to care for the grandchildren, there is truly a grief that can’t be spoken.
In Canada, our outrage over the global health inequities that drive the AIDS pandemic has been suppressed for too long. If you’re reading this then you already have a vision that these injustices must be rooted out. You are also demonstrating your desire to be part of the solution to AIDS in the world. No one knows all that will be involved in seeing this pandemic defeated. But I do know that it’s going to take millions of us, representing every nation in the world, working together to see the end of AIDS.
As you read about the Give a Day movement, I’m delighted if you think it’s a great idea. But please try to stretch yourself to go beyond a passing interest. Please find a way to give a day’s pay yourself to one of the great organizations who will use your money well to impact the lives of those affected by AIDS every day of the year. Over the next few days, we’ll tally the results of Give a Day 2007. Whatever the outcome, I thank you for joining me and hundreds of others across Canada, and around the world, by giving a day. My spirit is enriched to know that we have provided a measure of relief to those who battle this infection on the frontlines. And my spirit is hopeful that we have prodded the moral imagination of our time, moving us toward a world without AIDS.
Published by: GiveADay on December 1st, 2007 | Filed under Jane's Blog2 Comments »
One month to go!
World AIDS Day is just a month away! Give a Day 2007 is growing in all directions.
There are now 16 law firms running GAD campaigns. New workplaces are joining the effort every week. Some of the hospitals are holding friendly competitions to see who can raise the most money.
What difference does GAD make? Every dollar donated brings support and healing to those affected by AIDS. But the movement does more than ameliorate the plight of communities in Africa… it’s part of the groundswell that’s been lacking in countries like Canada. It’s the voice of the people shouting: We are appalled that thousands of young people die every day from AIDS-related illnesses. We’re angry about the injustices that drive the pandemic. And… we’re willing to dig into our own pockets and be part of the solution.
Why not mobilize your community? Act up! Speak up! Give up a day’s pay!
Published by: GiveADay on November 3rd, 2007 | Filed under Jane's Blog1 Comment »
New Web Site And Blog Launch
I’m very excited to be launching the new Give a Day Blog! I hope this will be a place for us to contribute ideas and inspirations.
One of the exhilarating things about Give a Day (GAD) is noting the reaction of people who hear about GAD for the first time. Peoples’ eyes light up with enthusiasm to realize that there is such a straightforward way that they can impact the AIDS pandemic.
We’ve known for years about the devastation of AIDS. But sometimes we feel helpless and powerless to effect change. Now we have a way to work together.
How did you hear about GAD?
Have you run a GAD campaign in your workplace? What was the experience like? Why did you get involved? What message do you want to share about GAD?
Jane Philpott, Founder of Give a Day to World AIDS
Published by: GiveADay on October 3rd, 2007 | Filed under Jane's Blog5 Comments »
