Sexual Health Buzz

World AIDS Day, marked annually on December 1, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The theme for 2008 event is leadership, continuing the theme of last year. Promoted with the slogan “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise,” the aim of the leadership campaign is to highlight the discrepancy between promises made to stop the spread of AIDS and the actions that need to be and have been taken to follow through on these promises.

To celebrate the 2007 and 2008 World AIDS Day theme of leadership, the World AIDS Campaign launched the Stop AIDS Leadership Pledge in November 2007. In collaboration with partner organizations around the globe, this initiative asks people from all over the world to World AIDS Day 2008pledge their leadership to help stop AIDS. Aiming for a goal of 100,000 pledges, organizers will use these commitments to create exhibitions, banners and other visibility actions during events in 2008 and 2009.

Individuals can take the leadership pledge at the World AIDS day site, opting to either speak to friends and family members about AIDS, write a letter or join a rally demanding universal access, or volunteer or donate to an AIDS cause. A list of pledges made across the globe can be viewed at the World AIDS campaign site.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, are also working to promote World AIDS Day through the website www.AIDS.gov and its “Facing AIDS: World AIDS Day 2008” Campaign. “Facing AIDS” is a web-based campaign that focused on ways individuals can take action to show support for those living with HIV and AIDS and raise awareness as well. CDC’s efforts also focus on HIV testing, creating web buttons to promote HIV testing for use on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, and utilizing text messaging to connect people with local resources. With this latter service, cell phone users can send a text message of their zip code to “KNOWIT” (566948). to receive a text message containing one or more local HIV testing sites.

For more information about HIV and AIDS, visit the ASHA site and message board forums.

What are you doing to help spread the word? Maybe you can share this information on your blog and with your friends and co-workers.

You can also visit our message board here on Shut Up N Post! STD Message Board.