World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988.
In an email letter, Dr. Patricia Nkansah-Asamoah at the Tema Clinic in Ghana has written:
"I used to feel helpless when I told my patients in Ghana that they had HIV. There was very little we could do for them. We had no drugs for treating HIV. Many didn’t make it to the next week. It was a period of hopelessness and despair.
When we finally got access to medicine because of money from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and other partners, I felt so empowered. I knew my patients would finally live to see the next day, and 10 years down the line most of them are still living.
It’s time to make sure every mother, every child, every person gets a chance to see tomorrow.To mark World Aids Day today, please join me in signing ONE’s petition with just one click."
The petition reads:
Dear World Leaders,
Step up your fight against AIDS. Scale up your commitments to support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and help make the beginning of the end of AIDS a reality by 2015.
Right now we are at a critical moment in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The world has made incredible progress in its efforts to understand, prevent and treat this disease. But we need to do more. If enough of us take action we can ensure we bring about the beginning of the end of AIDS.
Please sign the petition
"We have all the tools. Now we need the passion to fight for what’s right.
It starts with you.
Thank you,
Dr. Patricia Nkansah-Asamoah
Tema Clinic, Ghana and ONE member"
