Bebo

It can often make pretty grim reading when AIDS hits the headlines. So I’m delighted to be able to pass on some brilliant news from the UN this week.

With barely a whisper in the media it’s been announced that there are now three million people receiving antiretroviral treatment. That compares to just 200, 000 a few years ago when we started campaigning on this issue.

However, whilst the new figures are great news, a shocking 6 million people still cannot get the drugs they desperately need. Our Invisible Women campaign argues that for the global AIDS response to ensure treatment for all - women’s rights must take centre stage. You can take action today and help ensure a good news story for every one of those 6 million people.

Our Invisible Women campaign reached a high point this week as DFID finally launched it’s new seven year AIDS plan.

The fantastic news is that most of ActionAid’s demands are in there. DFID minister, Douglas Alexander, even wrote in his introduction ‘this document places at its heart the needs and rights of women’ – exactly what we’ve been calling for. Some of the text is so close to what we wanted that we wondered if we’d written it ourselves!

Big things to celebrate include promises to:

• Increase treatment for pregnant women to prevent transmission to their babies.
• Help women caring for orphans and people living with HIV.
• Increase by 50% funding for HIV prevention methods women can control, like female condoms.

So is it all good news? The one letdown is that while it ticks all our boxes, the strategy doesn’t set out exactly how DFID will tackle complex, long term issues like violence against women. Without an action plan, Douglas Alexander may find it hard to stick to his word.

In May 1998 more than 70,000 people formed a human chain in Birmingham to demand that the G8 'drop the debt'.

The scale of the protest took world leaders by surprise and proved a historic day for campaigning. As a result of consistent public pressure, $88 billion of debt has now been cancelled, and many lives have been transformed. But the debt crisis is far from over.

On Sunday 18 May the Jubilee Debt Campaign is gathering people in Birmingham once again to celebrate the progress made during the Jubilee 2000 and Make Poverty History campaigns – and to demand further action on the unjust debt that still remains. There’s an fantastic line up of speakers, and lots more information here:
http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk