An AIDS Free Generation by Ethan Zohn

Today is World AIDS Day and I’m writing to pass on some really cool news. We are right around the corner from achieving one of the most important milestones in the fight against AIDS – virtually eliminating mother-to-child transmission of the disease by 2015.

For nearly ten years, I’ve dedicated myself, through my work with Grassroot Soccer, to educating young people across Africa – the region hardest hit by this disease -- on the importance of knowing their status and how to stay HIV negative. Our goal is to create a generation that is more informed and better equipped to beat this disease. During my trips to Africa, I come into contact with children who have lost one or both parents to HIV (nearly 14 million children across Africa have been orphaned by AIDS) or with children who are HIV positive themselves (90% of all children who contract the disease are in Africa). This is not OK.

What I have realized is that the most powerful thing that can be done to equip these kids is to give them an HIV-free, healthy start at life. And, that is completely possible. The treatment exists to virtually eliminate the chance that an HIV positive pregnant woman will pass the virus to her baby and yet only about half of all women who need the treatment have access -- over 1,000 babies are born every day with the disease. The amazing thing is that more than a dozen global health organizations have come together to work to increase access to treatment to all women who need it, and virtually eliminate transmission of the disease, by 2015.

Still, this is just one step in the right direction. We must maintain pressure on governments and these organizations to continue the progress – to maintain funding and focus on the issue so that this goal is achieved. Today, (RED) is launching a campaign “The AIDS Free Generation is Due in 2015” to help get people involved and raise awareness of this goal around the world. We’re asking people to tweet with #turnred, turn their Facebook profile picture (RED), to shout #turnred when checking in to foursquare to unlock the (RED) 2015 badge and more. Every action will help turn a map of the world (RED) to show the support spread around the world.

It will be a beautiful day when every child starts life without the burden of this disease. That day is not too far away.

Learn more at WWW.JOINRED.COM.

Ethan Zohn was a professional soccer player for the Hawaii Tsunami and Cape Cod Crusaders and in Zimbabwe for Highlanders Football Club. He is also the winner of the hit reality show, Survivor:Africa and used his prize money to co-found Grassroot Soccer, which uses the power of soccer to provide African youth with the knowledge, life-skills and support to live HIV-free.

(PENGUIN CLASSICS) RED – Now Available in the US and Canada!

PENGUIN CLASSICS (PRODUCT)RED™ are now available in the United States and Canada too! That means you can now get (PENGUIN CLASSICS) RED around the world.

Penguin Classics have partnered with (PRODUCT) RED bring you a selection of some of the best books ever written, capturing the imagination of millions of readers around the world, transforming the way people think, feel and read forever. Now they’re available in the United States and Canada just in time to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1st, and fifty percent of Penguin’s profits from these titles will go to the Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS.

Renowned Penguin cover designers (including Coralie Bickford-Smith—Dangerous Book for Boys, Penguin Hardcover Classics) have lent their drafting hands to create vibrant, new packages for vibrant, beloved titles: The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad, Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Silas Marner by George Eliot, Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence, and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James all get the (PRODUCT) RED design treatment.

In addition to these six titles that are available in the US, Penguin Canada has partnered with Indigo, Canada’s largest book retailer, and will release an additional 10 classics in Canada for the 2010 holiday gift-giving season. “The message of this campaign is that these great books still have the power to change lives—and literally, to save lives” says Indigo CEO Heather Reisman

Check them out here and make sure to get your hands on a few copies.
In the US: www.penguinclassics.com/red
In Canada: www.penguinclassics.ca/red

(NIKE)RED Tackles AIDS with the UK Parliamentary Teams On World AIDS Day

(NIKE) RED was centre-stage at the World AIDS Day Parliamentary football match in London last week. The United Nations football team took on the UK MPs team, to raise awareness of the goal of eliminating mother to child transmission of HIV by 2015. With the help of the great team at Nike, everyone on the United Nations team stood out in their (RED) kit, right down to their (NIKE)RED laces, and declared the possibility of an AIDS Free Generation due in 2015 across their shirts.

The teams braved the snow and ice to play the match, ensuring the message was extended throughout the United Nations community, UK Parliament and throughout the MPs’ constituencies across the UK. The possibility of an AIDS Free Generation is a message that is of significant priority for the UN and Parliamentary teams. Russell Brown MP, Shadow Defence Minister and player on the Parliamentary team, who helped organise the match, had this to say:

“Each year nearly half a million babies are born with HIV or contract it through their mother’s breastmilk. But there are simple and affordable medicines to prevent this. We’re asking the Government to support the campaign for an AIDS Free Generation born in 2015.”

Spreading the Word: 'An AIDS Free Generation is Due in 2015'

This World AIDS Day many friends of (RED) shared their thoughts about the goal of creating an AIDS free generation by 2015. Read on to hear what Michel Kazatchkine from the Global Fund, Malaak Compton-Rock, Kelly Rutherford, Alan Cumming, Ethan Zohn and more had to say.

A big thank you to each of them for raising their voices on behalf of this important issue and helping us to raise awareness and educate about this goal.

(RED) CEO Susan Smith Ellis on Huffington Post

(RED) CMO Jen Willig on Tonic.com

(RED) Director, Digital Strategy & Marketing Chrysi Philalithes on 140hope.org

Executive Director of the Global Fund Michel Kazatchine on Huffington Post

Converse CMO Geoff Cottrill on Adage.com

Djimon Hounsou on CNN.com

Kelly Rutherford on Popeater.com

Alan Cumming on Alancumming.com

Malaak Compton-Rock on Parents.com and ONE.org

Lance Bangs, director of (RED)'s documentary The Lazarus Effect, on Tonic.com

OUT.com

Twitter.com

Foursquare.com

Encouraging Words from Stephen W. Nicholas M.D Founder and Director of the Columbia University International Family AIDS Program

Stephen W. Nicholas, M.D. is a good friend of (RED) and Founder and Director of the Columbia University International Family AIDS Program. He shares his outlook on the potential of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV:

The UNAIDS Global Report released recently contained mostly encouraging news about the ongoing efforts to combat the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. In a nutshell, the number of people with HIV/AIDS in the world is stabilizing.

The greatest success is happening in the push to end mother-to-child transmission of the disease. In Sub-Saharan Africa – the region most profoundly impacted by the epidemic – new HIV infections among children have dropped 32%, according to the report, as more countries have adopted and implemented effective treatment regimens.

One of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals is to virtually eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV worldwide by 2015. It may sound like a short deadline for an awfully ambitious goal, but the fact is that it is entirely attainable.

We’ve seen how it can work here in the U.S. In New York State, in particular, the Department of Health AIDS Institute created programs and implemented policies over the last two decades that have essentially eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

From the start, New York State – and especially New York City -- has led the nation in the number of men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS. At the peak of the epidemic in 1990, an estimated 475-759 HIV-infected babies were born in New York State; by 2008, that number dropped to an astonishingly low six – a 99% reduction.

How was this turnaround accomplished? Primarily through HIV screening of pregnant women and the administration of effective ARV medications to pregnant women and newborns. De-stigmatization of HIV testing and smart public health programs and policies were also critical factors.

While the HIV/AIDS epidemic hasn’t ended in New York, there has been so much success in preventing mother-to-child transmission and pediatric HIV/AIDS that we are able to realistically speak of its imminent elimination. It is a truly incredible public health success story that can be replicated in Africa.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria – with support from nations of the world and innovative private funding sources like (RED) – has joined a group of NGOs in making this a priority. If these organizations are given the necessary resources, we may be ready to welcome the first generation of babies born HIV-free in decades. It will be a critical milestone in the battle against HIV/AIDS and the basis of a solid foundation for the broader effort to eradicate this pandemic altogether.

Discover New Music This Year from RED

Looking for a New Year Resolution that will help save lives? If you vowed that 2011 would be the year when you helped to make a difference, then start by downloading the latest version of the (SHAZAM) RED app for iPhone and iPod touch. Shazam contributes 20% of the price to the Global Fund to invest in HIV/AIDS programs.

The updated (SHAZAM) RED App offers a great new design, faster tagging, in-App videos, Tag Charts from 20 countries and a new shortcut menu to preview, buy and share music – but more importantly, the Shazam (PRODUCT) RED™ app helps save lives. Now that’s a great way to start your New Year!

If you’re already using (SHAZAM) RED then make sure you upgrade to Version 3. New users can download the (SHAZAM) RED App for $5.99 / €4.10 / £3.49 from iTunes here.

Get (SHAZAM) RED and Save Lives!

Hope for an AIDS Free Generation

A few words from Dr. Patricia Nkansah-Asamoah from the TEMA Clinic in Ghana, which receives (RED) funds.

I celebrated World AIDS Day last week feeling very hopeful that we are well on our way to reaching one of the most important goals in the fight against AIDS – to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV by the year 2015 and create the first generation of babies born HIV/AIDS free in nearly three decades.

As a physician who works at Tema General Hospital in Ghana, I have the privilege of seeing first-hand the profound impact that this effort is having on the people of Ghana. Compared with the rest of Africa, Ghana has been relatively fortunate in evading a full-blown AIDS pandemic. Yet Sub-Saharan Africa, of course, is home to the majority of HIV patients. For instance, of the 33 million people who have AIDS around the world, 22 million – a full two-thirds -- live in Africa. Africa is home to 14 million children who’ve lost one or both parents to AIDS.

And yet, despite the grim statistics, there are stories of hope. Take for instance, one of my HIV positive patients, Ruth, who has a beautiful HIV-negative daughter Bernadetta. Ruth was diagnosed with HIV in 2004 when she was pregnant. Ruth visited Tema General Hospital for routine antenatal care and, when tested for HIV, was found to be positive. The diagnosis was a shock for Ruth and, at first, she was devastated and worried that her child would die of the virus. Because our hospital has access to the appropriate treatment through funding from organizations like the Global Fund, I was able to treat her to help prevent transmission to her baby. I put Ruth on ARV treatment to help lower the viral load in her body. After birth, Bernadetta was also given ARV medication specifically formulated for infants. Bernadetta then was tested periodically until he was 1 ½ years old. She is HIV negative and thriving.

By far the most gratifying part of my job is taking an HIV positive mother through labor and delivery, and following up with her and being able to tell her after 18 months that her baby is HIV negative. I have seen, first-hand, that when mothers have access to ARVs, they use them. And when they use them the chances of vertical transmission (when the virus travels inadvertently from the pregnant mother to her child) are minimal. At Tema General Hospital, a mere 5% of babies whose mothers have begun treatment test positive.

I am hopeful that as we focus our energy and resources on eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015, that our transmission rate will drop to zero and I’ll have more stories like Ruth where we are able to give our babies the gift of being HIV-free at birth.

This will not only be an incredible moment for that generation, but for generations to follow as we will finally get one step ahead of this virus as our children start their lives healthy.

Of course, there is always more to do. We need better facilities and equipment. We need more staff. But most important, we need the continued commitment from the global community so we can keep up this life-saving work, which is giving the people of Ghana, Africa at large and our children new hope for the future.

- Dr. Patricia Nkansah-Asamoah