Launch of the Africa Campaign on Disability and HIV&AIDS
1 December 2006, World AIDS Day
Today is World AIDs Day. We at the Secretariat of the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities want to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the fact that persons with disabilities in Africa are vulnerable to the impact of HIV and AIDS, although there are a lot of misconceptions in this regard. They face the same risks as any other group.
HIV information and services, however, are highly inaccessible to disabled persons on our continent due to misconceptions, communication barriers and discrimination.
The Secretariat of the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities (SADPD) in partnership with Handicap International is organising a meeting which will mark the official launch of the Africa Campaign on Disability and HIV & AIDS in Cape Town, South Africa, 23-25 January, 2007.
The launch of the Campaign will be preceded by a three-day strategic planning session which aims to create a better understanding about current initiatives on disability and HIV in specified areas such as policy and research, select a steering group for the Campaiaign, and agree on a way forward.
We have invited a broad spectrum of participants including national AIDS councils, international NGOs, Disabled Peoples Organisations, donor agencies and experts. The overall goal of the Africa Campaign on Disability and HIV & AIDS is to reduce the vulnerability of persons with disabilities in Africa to the impact of HIV and AIDS.
We will work to empower persons with disabilities to respond to HIV and AIDS within their communities and to improve access to HIV information and services for Africans with disabilities.
We will also create awareness about the vulnerability of persons with disabilities to HIV and AIDS and advocate for equal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.
The programme and other preparatory documents are being finalised and will be published on www.africandecade.org.za by 4 December 2006.
For more information please contact Gouwah Samuels on gouwah@africandecade.co.za or Susan Girois on sgirois@handicap-international.org.
You are also welcome to provide input and ideas for the campaign.
DCDD is partner to the campaign from the Netherlands. DCDD has a working group on Disability and HIV/Aids in development.