Dear Friends,

Thanks for a lovely interaction in Cocktails and Dreams on 24th November. Your presence of solidarity with Shanker Foundation DjNP+ on that day furthers the vision of Shanker Foundation DjNP+ of dignity and right to life of people and families living with HIV/AIDS. It was a great beginning of the Delhi Chapter of Shanker Foundation and Friends. The Delhi Chapter has tremendous potential of not only partnering with the DjNP+ in Darjeeling but work towards awareness in Delhi with all our people who are working in the unorganized sector. By your presence and access to powers that be of our country you can work on policy changes which would be of tremendous benefit not just to Darjeeling but other regions in India of similar socio-ecological systems.

We can take this forward one day at a time with some the decisions that we came upon that day:
1. Start a forum for Shanker Foundation and Friends - Delhi
2. Get more people into the Shanker Foundation and Friends – Delhi
3. Read up on Shanker Foundation DjNP+ at http://shankerfoundation.blogspot.com, http://darjeelingnews.net/forumdarjeeling - NGOs - Shanker Foundation
4. Fund raise with the 2008 calendar
5. Take the Lead by talking about HIV/AIDS

The calendar seems to be pretty ready and yes we did take the pains of correcting in the printer even though it had already gone for printing. Increases the cost slightly but as you all said it is worth the first impression.

I walked into a war zone in Darjeeling town, one day late with the strikes, with the huge number of security people in town. Reminded me of the Andolon Days and was pretty nerve racking with all the positive energy I had picked up in Delhi. Hopefully things will gain some amount of normalcy tomorrow, had a pretty huge peace and anti-bandh rally today from Chowrastha to Lower market traffic police station. The situation has upset the World AIDS day programme and we are having an emergency meeting tomorrow. Will update you along the way.

Thank you Nischal and Sujata for the positive initiative to get things happening in Delhi and yeah the hospitality of Cocktails and Dreams. Thank you one and all who were there on 24th in body and many more in spirit whose presence was felt even in their absence.

Yours in solidarity,
Roshan
Take the Lead and Lets talk about HIV/AIDS

Shanker Foundation DjNP+ and Friends in Delhi

Take the Lead and be a part of Shanker Foundation Darjeeling Network of Positive People and Friends by proactively participating in a discussion on 24th November 2007 at 3: 00 pm at:
COCKTAILS AND DREAMS,
B4/223, Safdarjung Enclave, near Safdarjung Flying Club, New Delhi.

HIV/AIDS is an integral part of Darjeeling society with a significant number of people infected and affected by the virus.

Various myths and misconceptions on HIV/AIDS persist in our society resulting in the discrimination of people and families living with HIV/AIDS. There is stigma still attached to HIV/AIDS. One constantly finds the rights of positive people denied by all sections of society in our Darjeeling Hills.

The Shanker Foundation Darjeeling Network of Positive People (DjNP+) is a forum addressing the concerns of people living with HIV in the Darjeeling Hills. It has evolved as a network of Positive People in the Darjeeling Hills since its inception as Shrist in 2005. It is part of the Bengal Network of Positive People and the Indian Network of Positive People.

It believes and promotes the dignity and right to life of persons living with the disease. It provides care and support to Positive People.

The foundation has members from all walks of life: mothers, young adults, children…the list is endless and increasing rapidly. The disease is yet to be accepted due to lack of awareness. Increasing number of women and children living with HIV is adding challenges to the Network.

The foundation has been reaching out to other people with HIV/AIDS, mostly economically disadvantaged, with very little means of support. The challenge of constant care and support of the increasing number of people living with the disease is a daunting task.

TAKE THE LEAD

This year the theme of “TAKE THE LEAD” builds on last year theme of accountability to stop AIDS by keeping the promise. All of us are called to be leaders of our family, friends, colleagues and community. Take the lead and talk about HIV/AIDS with your family, friends, colleagues and community. Open your welcoming arms of love to people and families living with HIV/AIDS. Be a partner in providing care and support to PLWHA. Advocate proactively for the rights of PLWHA.

Be the change you want to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened. - Lord Buddha

Be a Leader

TAKE THE LEAD

This year the theme of “TAKE THE LEAD” builds on last year theme of accountability to stop AIDS by keeping the promise. All of us are called to be leaders of our family, friends, colleagues and community. Take the lead and talk about HIV/AIDS with your family, friends, colleagues and community. Open your welcoming arms of love to people and families living with HIV/AIDS. Be a partner in providing care and support to PLWHA. Advocate proactively for the rights of PLWHA.

HIV/AIDS and the Darjeeling Hills

The Darjeeling Hills are a highly vulnerable area with regards to HIV/AIDS. The backwardness of the region leading to high migration, intra-venous drug users, floating sex worker population, awareness focused in urban areas only are cross cutting factors resulting in the vulnerability.

Existing data on the HIV/AIDS status is questioned by experts. They point to several compelling factors to support their opinion:

• Very few people opt for testing due to lack of awareness and fear of a social scrutiny. Moreover, although blood donations are screened, donors are not notified of their HIV status.
• Awareness programmes only cater to the urban populace and lack a strong connection to the rural populace of Darjeeling.
• The VCCTC is located in the urban areas with limited access and to the rural population
• The poor economy of the region and massive unemployment has given rise to a large migrant labourer population and sex workers.
• High risk groups such as intra-venous drug users, drivers, migrant workers, flying sex workers leaving and coming into Darjeeling, have limited access to HIV/AIDS awareness programs.
• We also have a large male population in the defense who are away from home for long periods of time
• Most institutions do not impart sex education to pupils, let alone HIV/AIDS awareness

Societal Response:

• Denial – A state of denial exists in society and the individual. The society has yet to accept HIV/AIDS as its issue. This state of denial pushes HIV/AIDS to the margins and necessary actions are relegated as an unimportant issue. HIV/AIDS is a developmental issue affecting all of us, yet it is never discussed as one, in all walks of life. At an individual level, most people look at HIV/AIDS as something that will not affect him or herself, indulging in high risk behaviour or not accepting positive people.
• Stigma and Discrimination – This state of denial, the image that is created around HIV/AIDS and myths and misconception of HIV/AIDS has led to a very high stigma on HIV/AIDS. The stigma prevails in the Darjeeling hills too denying the right to a dignified life for the people and families living with HIV/AIDS.

Results of existing situation of HIV/AIDS in Darjeeling

• People and families living with HIV/AIDS are denied a dignified life
• HIV/AIDS gets hidden
• Rapid spread of HIV/AIDS

TAKE THE LEAD

This year the theme of “TAKE THE LEAD” builds on last year theme of accountability to stop AIDS by keeping the promise. All of us are called to be leaders of our family, friends, colleagues and community. Take the lead and talk about HIV/AIDS with your family, friends, colleagues and community. Open your welcoming arms of love to people and families living with HIV/AIDS. Be a partner in providing care and support to PLWHA. Advocate proactively for the rights of PLWHA.

Be the change you want to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened. - Lord Buddha

World AIDS Day 2007 Theme: Leadership

The theme for World AIDS Day 2007 and 2008 is “LEADERSHIP”. This theme will continue to be promoted with the campaigning slogan, “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.”

Why the theme of leadership?

Since the beginning of the epidemic, experience has clearly demonstrated that significant advances in the response to HIV have been achieved when there is strong and committed leadership. Leaders are distinguished by their action, innovation and vision; their personal example and engagement of others; and their perseverance in the face of obstacles and challenges. However, leaders are often not those in the highest offices. Leadership must be demonstrated at every level to get ahead of the disease - in families, in communities, in countries and internationally. Much of the best leadership on AIDS has been demonstrated within civil society organisations challenging the status quo. Making leadership the theme of the next two World AIDS Days will help encourage leadership on AIDS within all levels and sectors of society. We hope it will inspire and foster champions within a range of different groups and networks at local and international levels.

Leadership as a theme follows and builds on the 2006 theme of accountability. In 2006 a number of milestones were reached where accountability was particularly crucial. It was the year of the United Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS, which reviewed the progress on the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS – an important blueprint for reaching the Millennium Development Goals on AIDS. 2006 marked the fifth year anniversary of the African Abuja Declaration. 2006 was also the year in which national targets were set, or should have been set, by governments for achieving Universal Access to Treatment, Prevention, Support and Care by 2010. In addition, at 2006’s International AIDS Conference, “accountability” was the buzzword throughout the global forum, reflecting the conference’s theme,“Time to Deliver.”

Despite the efforts to hold leaders accountable in 2006, progress in halting HIV is falling far short of targets. Over 25 million people have been lost to AIDS so far, and 4.3 million people were infected with HIV 2006. The spread of HIV is quickening – with more people infected in 2006 than in any previous year. This is despite the number of promises by world leaders to provide services to curb the rates of infection and to bring down death rates. The G8 has made commitments on AIDS which now need to be delivered upon. In other high level meetings, governments of rich countries promised to increase the spending on development aid to 0.7 percent of their annual budget. Only a handful of countries have done so. In the Abuja Declaration, African leaders committed to allocating 15 percent of their budgets to health. This has happened in just one or two countries, with only one-third of African countries spending over 10 percent. Promises are not being kept because there is a lack of leadership at every level.

Using the theme

As with past World AIDS Day themes, leadership has been chosen as a loose global campaigning concept. Local campaign themes and World AIDS Day messages are best shaped at national, or community levels, where campaigns can tailor the theme towards their specific situation or constituency. Where possible, campaigners are encouraged to link local messages to the leadership theme, particularly around World AIDS Day. This helps maximise national, regional and international visibility of global campaigning efforts on AIDS. Also where possible, we encourage the use of the slogan “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.” in the accompanying language of World AIDS Day materials.

The principle behind all the work of the World AIDS Campaign is that local messages should underpin all global campaigning efforts. Whatever messages are most appropriate for AIDS campaigning work can be promoted with the leadership message. The theme of leadership is offered as a vehicle for uniting efforts within a common global message. World AIDS Campaign themes have a number of campaigning functions, including:

• helping to generate media coverage for AIDS and World AIDS Day.
• providing organisations who have limited resources access to meaningful campaigning materials.
• enhancing solidarity within the global response to AIDS through working through an united effort.
• galvanising action both nationally and internationally in a way that other smaller scale efforts can not by representing a world AIDS campaigning message.

Where the global campaigning theme of leadership detracts from the impact of local efforts it should not be used. In any situation where the global campaigning theme is seen as diminishing the autonomy of local campaigning voices it should not be used. The global theme offers only a loose organising principle where it compliments existing or emerging campaigning efforts.

One advantage of using the theme, particularly around World AIDS Day, is that it can offer a universally recognised vehicle for promoting a wide range of AIDS issues. The media, governments, local businesses, and a range of institutions locally and globally embrace World AIDS Day, and the annual theme that accompanies it, as an opportunity to demonstrate commitment and action on AIDS. So a diverse range of campaigners can use the theme to promote their causes. Campaigns could be politically orientated towards government, for example, “Leadership on treatment now: we are still dying. Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.” Or they could be designed to mobilise a certain sector within a common cause, for example “Textile workers, lead the fight against AIDS in your workplace.” The theme of leadership is designed to be as flexible as possible to accommodate a range of campaigning needs.

The World AIDS Campaign International Support Team will be working with a range of global networks to develop materials which are adaptable to many different situations. More guidance and campaigning notes will be circulated throughout the year. As in 2006, posters, leaflets and CD-ROMs will be developed and distributed. These will be available from around August 2007 in a number of languages, including French, Spanish, Russian, Swahili and English. Other language versions, particularly African languages, will also be offered via electronic distribution.

Background on World AIDS Day themes

The overall purpose of the World AIDS Campaign from 2005 to 2010 is to ensure that leaders and decision makers deliver on their promises on AIDS, including the provision of Universal Access to Treatment, Care, Support and Prevention services by 2010. Within that five-year mission, annual campaigning themes are selected which are timely, relevant and adaptable to a number of different regions and issues.

The theme for World AIDS Day has been determined by the World AIDS Campaign since 1997. Since that time, the campaign has developed into to its current form, governed by a committee of global constituency-based AIDS networks. The Global Steering Committee of the World AIDS Campaign selected the theme of leadership during their fifth steering committee meeting held in Geneva on 8th and 9th of February 2007. This Global Steering Committee is comprised of the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, the Youth Coalition, the Global Unions Programme on HIV/AIDS, the International Council of AIDS Service Organisations, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, and the International Women’s AIDS Caucus. UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria are non-voting members.

COURTESY: www.worldaidscampaign.info