World AIDS Day 2006
25 years of AIDS
In June 1981, scientists in the United States reported the first evidence of a disease that would become known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS. Twenty five years later, the AIDS epidemic has spread to every corner of the world. Around 40 million people are today living with HIV and over 25 million have died of AIDS.
World AIDS Day is traditionally observed December 1. United Methodists are encouraged to observe this event on or near that day. This year's international theme: "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise" relates directly to the eight UN Millennium Goals to "Keep the Promise" to fight the sources of hunger and poverty in our world. To read more about the worldwide response to AIDS, administered through the UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, go to www.unaids.org.
United Methodists are responding to the global epidemic locally and globally. Please use the information and resources on this page to learn more about how HIV/AIDS affects our society and world and for ways to observe this day in your community.
$8 Million of Hope
One way United Methodists are answering this crisis is through the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund. Heeding the biblical commands to "care for the widow and the orphan" and "visit the sick," the 2004 General Conference delegates established The United Methodist Church Global AIDS Fund, with a goal of raising at least $8 million by 2008.
Funding supports education, prevention, care, and treatment programs for people living with HIV/AIDS. The Global AIDS Fund does not overlook the crisis in the United States. About one million people are infected in the United States and more are added to that number each day. The plan specifies that 25 percent of what each annual conference raises should be used in that conference for AIDS work, either locally or in global projects.
Preventing AIDS in the Next Generation
This critical work is starting with the next generation: infants infected by HIV at birth. Pregnant women have a one in three chance of transmitting HIV on to their infants. United Methodists are working to provide a life-preserving drug, Nevirapine, which prevents the transmission of HIV from mother to child in Zimbabwe and seven other countries. The church also supports critical programs and services to care for orphans of AIDS.
How to Help
Help keep the promise! In honor of World AIDS Day, give generously to one of the following AIDS-related programs:
Global AIDS Fund: | Help United Methodists keep the promise to raise $8 million for AIDS education, prevention, care, and treatment overseas and in the US. |
AIDS Orphan Trust: | About 7,000 children in Zimbabwe are under the care of several orphan trusts supported by UMCOR. In this program children orphaned by AIDS remain in their homes and assigned caregivers regularly visit them and attend to their needs. |
AIDS Awareness | This AIDS educational program educates communities and supports community care programs for orphaned children, health coordinator training, as well as promotional/educational literature. |
Enabling AIDS Ministries | This program facilitates development and strengthening of HIV/AIDS ministries by providing grants for education, compassion, and advocacy for persons living with HIV/AIDS. |
Healthy Homes, Healthy Families Kit Program: | Prepare an infection control and basic care kit that contains 22 essential supplies needed to take care of an ailing loved one and prevent the spread of infection. |
Additional Web Resources
For additional information about the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and the United Methodist response, go to the denominational web site (www.umc.org) and the General Board of Church & Society (www.umc-gbcs.org).
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