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8 May 2002 There are an estimated 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS, and stigma and discrimination is adding to their numbers every year. This is why the Federation is using 8 May, World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, to launch a global campaign against HIV/AIDS-related discrimination. 500,000 babies are born HIV-positive every year, when the means to prevent this tragedy are available. Why? "Many mothers prefer not to have the HIV test, or collect the results, or act on them out of fear of being stigmatized and discriminated against by their families, their friends, their employers or the authorities if they become infected," said Federation secretary general Didier Cherpitel, speaking at the launch of the global campaign in Maputo, Mozambique. In many countries, millions of injecting drug users are denied access to clean injecting material, so they share needles, spreading the infection. In eastern Europe, HIV/AIDS is spreading at a faster rate than anywhere else in the world. In the last five years, the incidence of infection has risen by 426 per cent, and an estimated 500,000 injecting drug users contract HIV every year. Prejudice against people living with HIV/AIDS is largely based on ignorance about how the virus is spread. The truth about AIDS, PASS IT ON... is the theme of the global Red Cross and Red Crescent campaign, designed to help address this ignorance and to combat stigma. In addition to the launch in Mozambique, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world are marking World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day with national launches, from Myanmar to Iran, from Guatemala to Iceland. Highlights from launches around the world today include the symbolic removal of blindfolds from the eyes of public figures such as the president of Mozambique, the prime minister of Belize and the president of the Honduras. Celebrating World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, the President of the ICRC, Jakob Kellenberger, and International Federation President, Juan Manuel Suárez Del Toro Rivero, released a joint statement in which they said: "We are an humanitarian network, made up of ordinary people who do extraordinary work." Addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic specifically, they said: "This year the voices of our 97 million volunteers and members will unite to halt stigma and discrimination, particularly as it affects people with AIDS and their families. Our message is 'Take a look. Stigma Kills'. As we try to protect and cherish life, each and every one of us must dismantle the barriers caused by stigma, break down the barriers in the mind and reach towards a more tolerant tomorrow." Related Links: More about 'The truth about AIDS. PASS IT ON...' - special section focusing on the campaign 8 May 2002 - Secretary General's statement at launch of the global campaign to reduce HIV/AIDS related stigma and discrimination, Maputo, Mozambique 8 May 2002 - Joint message for May 8 - from the Presidents of the International Federation and the ICRC 8 May 2002 - 500,000 new borns and 500,000 injecting drug users infected with HIV yearly due to stigma, says Red Cross Red Crescent campaign
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