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American Red Cross strengthens its mission to serve people living with HIV/AIDS overseas
Commemorating 25 years of HIV/AIDS education and service
Shilpika Das, Special to RedCross.org
Thursday, November 30, 2006 — She was pregnant, HIV positive – and 14.
The Red Cross has helped 15-year-old Karla Rodriguez take preventive measures to ensure her son Christian doesn’t get infected with AIDS.
(Photo Credit: Honduran Red Cross)
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For Karla Rodriguez and her unborn child, the future seemed bleak and terrifying. Abandoned when she was still an infant, Karla had to fend for herself for most of her life. Barely 14 and sexually active, she had no idea her partner was HIV-positive. Karla didn’t think she would make it.
That was before the Red Cross changed her life.
Karla was found by an international humanitarian organization and brought to the Honduran Red Cross Voluntary Confidential Counseling and Testing (VCCT) center, where it was confirmed that she was HIV positive.
Terrified and vulnerable, Karla was taken in by the volunteers at the Honduran Red Cross. She was provided with counseling and psychosocial support at the VCCT center. She also was taken to a government clinic to be given anti-retroviral treatment – which suppresses the virus that causes AIDS – to prevent her baby from contracting it as well.
Due to continued efforts of the Red Cross, Karla is now part of a support group, founded by the Honduran Red Cross and other partners. She has been taught to take preventive measures to ensure her son is not infected. Barely old enough to take care of herself, this bright-eyed teenager is learning to read and write so that she can support her child.
Today, 15-year-old Karla has big dreams and is looking forward to a secure future; one that includes her 6-month-old son Christian.
Today, Karla has big dreams and is looking forward to a secure future; one that includes her 6-month-old son. Barely old enough to take care of herself, this bright-eyed teenager is learning to read and write so she can support her child.
(Photo Credit: Honduran Red Cross)
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Karla is just one of millions struggling to cope with HIV and the stigma that it brings along with it. The figures are startling. According to UNICEF, 6,000 young people are newly infected with HIV everyday. The American Red Cross and partners in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement) have helped thousands like Karla increase their access to essential HIV/AIDS services and information.
The VCCT program in Honduras, supported by the American Red Cross and Honduran Red Cross, offers counseling, support and prevention education to homeless and other youth at risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. Approximately 150 counselors offer counseling and testing services to youth and blood donors deferred due to high-risk behaviors. The $300,000 (USD) project is supported by partners such as Casa Alianza, a shelter for homeless youth, which offers counseling services to residents of 24 shelters and expanded outreach and reintegration programs.
Also supporting the project is a local association for people living with HIV/AIDS, which provides emotional support though 19 self-support groups along with 600 home and hospital visits. The four-year project has already benefited more than 10,200 at-risk youth in the cities of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula in Honduras.
“The success of the project lies in the fact that so many organizations have come together to promote education and awareness among an extremely vulnerable group,” says Dr. Joel Duron, National Health Coordinator for the Honduran Red Cross.
The American Red Cross is currently supporting HIV/AIDS projects in the U.S., Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Russia and Tanzania and is working to scale-up its international programs through partnerships with governments, non-government organizations (NGOs) and donors.
Supported by the Red Cross national societies of Tanzania, Haiti and Guyana, the American Red Cross is actively involved in the five-year “Together We Can” (TWC) project. TWC is aimed at providing education and community mobilization programs for youth to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The program, currently in its third year, has reached more than 455,000 youth in these three countries through curriculum-based interventions, peer-to-peer outreach and community mobilization events.
More recently, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (the Federation) launched a $300 million (USD) appeal to combat HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa, the world’s worst-affected region. The funds from the five-year appeal will be used to provide care for 250,000 people living with HIV and support 460,000 vulnerable children, particularly orphans.
“We must do much more and much better,” says Dr. Mukesh Kapila, the Federation’s special representative for HIV and AIDS, referring to the appeal. “That is why we are launching a Global Red Cross Red Crescent Alliance on HIV and AIDS.”
On the occasion of World AIDS Day, 25 years after HIV/AIDS was first identified, nearly 40 million people are living with the disease. Determined to combat this global emergency, the American Red Cross is reaffirming its mission to protect the lives and dignity of those affected by AIDS – and continues helping the Karlas of the world.
For more information on the Movement’s efforts to address HIV/AIDS, visit the "International Services" section on RedCross.org for a downloadable fact sheet or go to www.ifrc.org.
You can help those affected by countless crises around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. Please call 1-800-RED CROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the International Response Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation.
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