News - Biggest humanitarian crisis
Source: British Red Cross Society - UK
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On World AIDS Day, 1
December, the British Red Cross announced it is committed to investing at least £1 million each year on its HIV programmes abroad.HIV remains the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world,
with nearly 40 million people living with the virus.Unlike other potential global health threats such as SARS and bird flu, HIV is a pandemic here and now, and shows no signs of abating."We
are committed to raising and investing a minimum of £1 million annually into HIV programming abroad," said Matthias Schmale, British Red Cross international director."Of course, this is a
drop in the ocean in terms of needs and we are challenged to do much more for what is arguably the biggest crisis the world faces."I'm not aware of any other catastrophe affecting 40 million
people."He explained that other diseases may kill more people in a given year - such as malaria which killed four million in 2005, compared to AIDS which claimed three million lives.I'm not aware of any other catastrophe affecting 40 million peopleMatthias Schmale, British Red Cross international director"But there are not 40 million people overall affected by
malaria," he said. "There are 40 million people whose lives will end early because of the HIV virus."This year India overtook South Africa to have the largest HIV population in the world. A UN
report estimated that 5.7 million Indians were infected by the end of 2005, compared with an estimated 5.5 million people in South Africa.As a result the British Red Cross has extended its
peer education programme to help tackle the problem. We have joined forces with the Indian Red Cross to set up a youth project to help raise awareness and reduce discrimination and stigma surrounding
HIV.However, sub-Saharan Africa is still the epicentre of the pandemic, where more women than men are now affected.Worldwide young people are still most at risk, with more than
one-third of those infected aged between 15 and 24. More than 58,000 people are HIV positive in the UK.
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