IUSY (International Union of Socialist Youth) is an organisation representing today more than 135 member organisations, labour youth, socialist and social democratic youth from more than 100 countries. We took the decision not long time ago to launch a campaign on Aids, because we consider it as important as international young socialists to put this theme on our political agenda for many reasons.
There are many diseases in the world which need to be fought. Poverty and the lack of access to health system, clean water, and nutrition are reasons for infection, disease and death. Diseases and Epidemics and the fight against those are social questions and therefore not a faith but a reality which we have to change. It is not a coincidence to give by our campaign special attention to the world wide epidemic Aids, but a very conscious taken decision. Because what makes Aids different is that especially young people are very vulnerable to that disease. Aids strike especially today the working population. We have to imagine what kind of tremendous effects this has on the development of a society when there are no teachers and no nurses and workers any more, the active part of a society, who build up society and create it actively. With all the problems Africa, the forgotten continent today is facing, Aids has dramatically worsened the exclusion of this continent from the world. For sure Aids is a worldwide disease, Infections has increased in many parts of the world, also in Eastern and South Eastern Europe by increasing prostitution and human trafficking. With Globalisation not just goods and services has globalised but organised criminality and human trafficking as well.
In our campaign we give special attention to Africa, because Aids is a mirror of the global economical and social imbalance in the world.
It is not by coincidence, that especially, this disease is more prevalent in poor countries and regions, particularly in the African Continent. Due to fact sheets 70% of all infected people are living in Sub-Saharan Africa today.
With 40 million infected people in the World, Aids is a global phenomenon. In 2003 five Million people died of Aids, 3 Million of them in Sub - Saharan Africa
Aids is further more a disease of young people, if you take into consideration, that 1/3 of all people infected in the world are aged between 15 and 24. Almost half of all new infections now occur in young people. Nearly everyday 6000 young people become infected with HIV, over two million a year.
Aids is a disease, young women are very vulnerable to, because the biological risk of becoming infected with HIV during unprotected vaginal intercourse is greater for women than men. In Sub-Saharan Africa Aids has got a female face. Three Quarters of all infected in Sub Saharan Africa are women.
Aids is a disease which leaves back today 15 Million orphaned children, children who have lost one or both parents due to the epidemic. Out of 15 Million 12 Million live in Sub-Saharan Africa. The orphan Crisis is most acute in Africa. Many of these children are not really cared for.
In some African countries Aids today is causing the death of million people and by that erasing decades of social, health and economical development. Lost human resources are consequently leading to a big loss of labour force, as it is primarily striking the working population. The ILO projects that the labour force in 38 countries will be between 5% and 35% smaller by 2020 because of Aids.
But as Socialists it is our task to fight Aids. Aids is caused by HIV and can just be treaten by medicaments. But poverty, prostitution, lack of access to health and social care, the lack of access to prevention programme, the lack of access to knowledge on sexual education made Aids to become a worldwide dangerous epidemic. In Sub-Saharan Africa only 8% of school students have access to education on prevention.
This why we are not just demanding the access to affordable medicaments and prevention programmes, we are not just demanding to abolish patent rights to enable all the countries to produce cheaper and affordable drugs, but we are working towards prevention of Aids and Sexual Education within young people.
We want to move our organisations and all young people to start again to put the theme on sexual education back on their political agenda. It is the work of Youth organisations to draw the attention of young people for that issue.
We want to deliver materials and knowledge and information among young people about sexuality, how Aids can be transmitted, and how it cannot.
We want to break Taboos, we want to break moral and religious taboos and empower young people to use condoms. We will stand up politically against all groups and movements who are spreading around false information, like the use of condoms can transmit Aids. We will stand up against all those who claim it to be a religious duty not to use condoms.
And we have a different approach as well to the well known approach of ABC: Abstention, Be faithful and use condoms. We don not think that abstention is the solution. Solutions can be made in providing and spreading knowledge about Aids and Sexuality.
Fight Aids, not people with Aids!