Thanks Santa
Early Christmas prezzies usually give pleasure and delight, and a chance
to quietly exchange any unwanted gift for something you really need. Not so
the present delivered by the American electorate to the world last month in
the shape of a second term for George W Bush. This one came with a large ‘no
change for four years’ tag and the terrifying prospect of people paying
for it with their lives.
After the election, Bush was quick to promise he would use his second term
to “reach out to the world” to tackle global terrorism. But there
was little to suggest his Christmas goody bag would bring much cheer for people
living with HIV across the globe.
Where, for example, are the kings bearing gifts for millions still denied
access to life-saving treatment for HIV/Aids, while the world’s most
powerful leader pours hundreds of billions of dollars into the Iraq war and
quibbles about America’s contribution to the Global Fund to fight Aids,
TB and Malaria?
And where are the glad tidings for those waiting for ARVs from projects funded
by the US global Aids programme - when Bush’s bar on PEPFAR, the President’s
Emergency Plan For Aids/HIV Relief, buying cheap generics from India means
the $15 billon programme is only reaching half as many as it could?
And what about hope for all those dying with HIV and Aids in Bush’s
own backyard, unable to access life saving treatment on the Aids Drugs Assistance
programme in the richest nation in the world?
And where is the seasonal goodwill to all those with HIV and Aids labelled
‘inadmissible aliens’ and barred from entry to the US - or the
millions branded ‘immoral’ for forging loving and caring relationships
with their own sex?
There is now little question Bush was returned to power by America’s
moral majority to address moral issues. But as the National Association of
People Living with Aids in the US points out: “Real morality demands
an effective response to HIV/Aid in the US and around the world.”
So Mr Bush, here is PN’s Christmas wish-list: stop the war mongering;
stop using bilateral free trade agreements to thwart generic HIV medicines;
stop demanding crippling debt repayments from Aids-torn countries; stop denying
support to sex workers, gay men and IV drugs users; stop your obsession with
abstinence-only campaigns and start responding in a truly moral way to this
pandemic.
And then - just maybe - people living with HIV and Aids across the globe can
finally get to enjoy at least one Christmas before you leave the world stage
in 2008.
Reasons for hope
New babies symbolise new life and new hope, so it seemed appropriate for PN
to end the year with a celebration of positive pregnancy.
In the UK at least, huge advancements in the treatment of pregnant women with
HIV have slashed mother to child transmission rates from around 30 to less
than one per cent. Three women, including our cover girl and columnist Susan
Cole, talk about how this quantum leap has allowed them to reclaim and celebrate
their reproductive rights and challenge the stigma that surrounds motherhood
and HIV.
So we would like to take this opportunity to convey to Susan and her family
all our love and best wishes for the birth of her new baby and wish all our
readers a healthy, happy Christmas and hope-filled New Year.
Amanda Elliot, managing editor
