All creatures great and small… HIV/AIDS and Sustainable
Development
by Judith King - HIVAN Media Office
There can be few in society who do not realise that
health and development are not "either/or"
issues, but are so interwoven that one cannot secure
one without addressing the other. But where to begin?
At the start of the World Summit on Sustainable Development
(WSSD), Secretary-General Mr Nitin Desai declared that,
with 36 million people living with HIV globally, we
cannot make progress with development UNTIL we have
dealt with the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Such a statement, made from a powerful platform at
a moment in history when the eyes and ears of the world
are trained on this important forum, might sound like
yet another grand pronouncement that leaves one wondering:
how can I be of use? As an individual, one often feels
too insignificant to play a meaningful part in effecting
social change. Access to resources seems to remain in
the hands of global governments and giant corporations,
while the scale of the HIV/AIDS epidemic overwhelms
even the most committed of citizens trying to contribute
to healthier households, neighbourhoods and communities.
However, one does not need a massive bank balance,
elevated social status or superior intellectual knowledge
of all the issues in order to help out. All we need
is a simple, central focus for action, and the WSSD's
agenda presents a perfect framework within which the
individual can make a difference.
Although our attention is consistently (and correctly)
being drawn to the awesome gap between who is empowered
and who is disempowered, this agenda is based on three
goals: alleviating poverty, protecting the environment
and caring enough to take HIV/AIDS seriously. There
are hundreds of small but significant actions we can
take in our daily lives to effect change, whether through
recycling, planting, donating or lobbying.
In a broader sense, it is through recognising that
HIV/AIDS and sustainable development involve not only
human needs, but human rights, that the world will gain
equilibrium. Anuradha Mittal, Co-ordinator of the US-based
Institute for Food and Development Policy - better known
as Food First - says that securing freedom from want
and fear is a "people's movement", and that
its success depends on each one of us.
Interviewed in The Sun (February 2002), Mittal
says: "This revolution does not differentiate between
civil rights and economic, social and cultural rights.
It recognises that land and liberty, jobs and justice
go together. If power is not taken back to the local
level, nothing will change at the national or international
level. Human rights are not dependent on the whims and
fancies of corporations or presidents - they are dependent
on the real people exercising real democracy. And that
requires that we get involved. "
In KwaZulu-Natal, where HIV/AIDS and development crises
pose monumental challenges, we have in our own backyard
a superb model of successful mobilisation to emulate.
Led by its Deputy Mayor, Zanele Hlatshwayo, the municipality
of Pietermaritzburg has formed a vibrant network of
diverse stakeholders which is effectively addressing
both the needs and the rights of all its community members.
The Msunduzi Municipal AIDS Strategy is an action plan
being implemented through co-ordinated partnership with
clearly defined objectives and timeframes. After six
months of operation, its benefits are demonstrable,
and the scheme is fast becoming identified as one that
could be replicated throughout the country.
(Read Liz Clarke's report on the Strategy by clicking
here)
Clearly, we as individuals can choose to make a twofold
commitment to the "people's movement" for
HIV/AIDS and sustainable development: get involved
and get together. There are brave and able people
showing us the way forward, and whether we are leading
figures or one of the masses, each of us is a powerful
networker and agent for change.
Our site offers you a range of options for involvement:
Join and explore our database of organisations
and individuals who are committed to the struggle
against HIV/AIDS;
Contribute to the site's content by submitting
your article to the Webmaster or posting your viewpoint
to the Discussion Boards;
Build bridges by telling someone else about
our site.
One simple action on your part could change or
save another person's life.
