Veronica Weis is the 2010 fall intern for ONE's new media department. Veronica was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Veronica is currently a student at George Washington University, where she studies international affairs.
For those of you who own a smartphone (like me, for example), this blog post will be particularly disturbing. According to The Globe and Mail, Coltan, an obscure mineral found in the most popular smartphones and mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has helped fuel countless atrocities across the country, including mass killings and rape.
Coltan is now one of the world’s most precious materials. It is required for the production of tantalum, a vital ingredient in electronic circuitry. These minerals can be found in all kinds of electronics ranging from computers, cell phones and home appliances.
The result is an international tantalum market worth about $2 billion annually. But the price of the coltan mining industry in perpetuating human misery for millions of Congolese people is immeasurable. As these items fly off of store shelves this holiday season, at least some of our money will be contributing to the pockets of companies who have continue to source Coltan in the DRC and who lobbied –- and are still lobbying –- these new against disclosure laws. More importantly, we will be financing a lucrative war that is plagued by human rights abuses.
On World AIDS Day, communities from all over the globe stopped to recognize the 12,700 people who die each day from HIV/AIDS. But knowing the facts about HIV/AIDS is only half the battle. Here’s a fact sheet that illustrates both sides of the coin in cold, hard numbers: the current situation of the epidemic AND the progress of AIDS-fighting efforts like the Global Fund.
- Each day there were 7,000 new infections; 97 percent of these occurred in low and middle income countries
- The numbers show that of the 6,000 daily new adult cases, 41 percent were between the ages of 15-24
- In 2009, 33.3 million people were living with HIV around the world. Of those, 30.8 million are adults, 15.9 million are women and 2.5 million are children under the age of 5
- 2.6 million people were newly infected with HIV; 2.2 million adults and 370,000 children
- 22.5 of the 33.3 million people living with HIV reside in sub-Saharan Africa
- 1.8 million people died from AIDS, more than a quarter of a million of those were children under the age of 15
The progress in the fight:
While these numbers prove there is much work to be done, campaigns like the Living Proof show us that together, we can achieve progress for the world’s poorest.
- The Global Fund saves 4,000 lives every day
- Nearly 4 million Africans are on life preserving treatment for AIDS today, up from 50,000 in 2003.
- The use of treatment for HIV-positive pregnant women has stopped an estimated 200,000 new HIV infections in children over the last 12 years, the vast majority since 2005.
- 22 sub-Saharan countries saw the rate of new infections fall by more than 25 percent between 2001 and 2009.
- In 2009, an estimated 53% of pregnant women living with HIV received ARV’s to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to their infants, up from 15 percent in 2005
How much of the federal budget does the U.S. devote to foreign aid? Take a stab at the answer in our comments section below, then click the more button to find the answer. The amount might surprise you!
Mama Lyimo, a Tanzanian sociologist, has witnessed first-hand how HIV/AIDS has ravaged her East African country. Compelled by an immense heart and strong will, she set out on a 40-day survey across Tanzania to understand why the disease continues to thrive, leaving behind thousands of orphans in its wake.
“Into the Light,” an award-winning documentary directed by Peter Glenn, follows Mama Lyimo’s emotional journey as she travels from village to village, meeting with locals to produce answers and educate Tanzanians about this global epidemic.
The urgency and harrowing nature of the crisis develops a human face when Mama Lyimo crosses paths with an AIDS orphan named Suzy. Her poignant struggle to survive in the midst of sorrow and grieving changes the tone of Mama Lyimo’s research and leaves the audience haunted by this young victim.
Peter Glenn worked with Mama Lyimo for two years before actual shooting for the documentary commenced. To watch the film and learn more about HIV/AIDS in Tanzania, visit the “Into the Light” website.
To commemorate World AIDS Day, we’re launching a series of blog posts to educate, inspire and update you about the fight against HIV/AIDS. Keep an eye out for more posts like these on the ONE Blog during the week.
With World AIDS Day coming up tomorrow, ONE wanted to deliver some optimism on the fight against this worldwide epidemic. Joyce Kamwana, an ambassador with the Here I Am campaign and a great friend to ONE, joined us in the D.C. office back in September and gave her resounding endorsement of the Global Fund.
Joyce was diagnosed with HIV when she was 25. At that time, she was quickly falling prey to the disease, losing weight and watching her body turn against her. Thanks to antiretroviral therapy provided by the Global Fund, she is now 47 and a proud grandmother.
On World AIDS Day, it is imperative that we remember that the struggle against AIDS is not over yet. Cases like that of Joyce prove that coordinated and targeted international efforts can yield powerful results.
To read about the impact of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, visit our Global Fund success stories page here.
In the predominantly rural communities of Africa, three out of four adults would not be able to read this blog post. There, in the most impoverished regions of the world, the link between literacy and poverty extends far beyond education. It impacts the ability for women to read prescription labels when caring for their ailing children or farmers trying to decipher the instructions for much-needed chemical packaging.
Since most adult students work during the day, their only option is night classes. As daylight dwindles, villagers are limited to about 15 minutes of actual learning time; the duration that the single kerosene classroom lantern hovers over their desks. Ironically, rural African teachers aren’t facing a shortage of enthusiastic students, but a lack of resources punctuated by limited to no electricity.
At a time when financial anxieties have strained every corner of the globe, the G20, the nineteen leading world economies and the European Union, have been meeting this week for a summit in Seoul, South Korea. President Barack Obama has stated that his ambition is to utilize the opportune gathering to encourage balanced and sustainable growth for every country involved, with hope that these measures will lead to an expedited international economic recovery.
According to the NYTimes, as of Thursday evening, G20 leaders were drawing closer toward reaching consensus on a deal to reduce global economic imbalances hindering recoveries around the world. Amidst the flurry of talks, some notable meetings of the minds took place separately between President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao and German chancellor, Angela Merkel. As well as officials from the United States and South Korea, who failed to strike a free trade deal between the two countries ahead of the summit this week that would have drastically increased exports in the coming years.
These disagreements have regrettably overshadowed the G20 agenda for a push on successful development and aid policies for the world’s poorest. Regrouping from the G20 meeting in Toronto, and under the guidance of South Korea, governments have unanimously shifted focus on spurring economic growth as the foremost policy for poverty reduction through projects emphasizing improving infrastructure, increasing financial inclusion, securing private investments, assisting good governance and encouraging food security.
For continued news on the G20 Summit and the result of the joint statement, check in to the ONE blog in the coming days.
Right now, some of the world's biggest oil companies are fighting to keep some of their deals with foreign governments secret. Let's tell big oil we won't be bullied.
Cuts to poverty-fighting programs won't balance the budget, but they will set back progress on Canada's development priorities and risk jeopardizing existing investments.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
