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U.N. Group Here Receives Award from AID Atlanta
December 2005 – CIFAL Atlanta recently received an appreciation award for its work in helping municipalities in the Western Hemisphere combat the spread of HIV and AIDS. The United Nations organization plans to rally the business community’s involvement for its three AIDS-related conferences next year, according to its executive director, Axel Leblois.
CIFAL Atlanta, which trains city officials in this hemisphere on various governance issues, was recognized by AID Atlanta, a community-based organization serving individuals infected or affected by the AIDS epidemic, during a ceremony on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, at the Coca-Cola Auditorium downtown.
CIFAL was recognized for a conference it held last June at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health that brought 80 leaders from some 20 countries to discuss ways to curb the spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and to participate in finding a cure.
“We reached 60 or 70 cities in this hemisphere, which I think was very meaningful in the fight against AIDS in those countries,” Mr. Leblois told GlobalAtlanta.
“Next year, we plan to reach even more cities by hosting similar conferences in different locations,” he said, noting that CIFAL Atlanta is planning to hold another AIDS conference in Atlanta, plus two more conferences in Mexico City and Kingston, Jamaica, in 2006.
The AIDS conferences are part of an ongoing CIFAL Atlanta-sponsored program called City AIDS, said Keith Green, special programs manager with CIFAL.
Mr. Green said the feedback from the 2005 conference was so positive, that CIFAL has decided to do more in-country training in the form of City AIDS Mexico and City AIDS Jamaica programs.
“Corporations have an important and unique role to play in this. There’s a real economic case for investing now rather than later [in AIDS care and research],” he said. “AIDS is a significant drag on the economy.”
Not only can AIDS lead to political and economic instability in countries where the high prevalence of cases is affecting the gross domestic product growth rate, but it also impacts businesses throughout the Americas, Mr. Green added.
“Businesses really need to care [about HIV/AIDS] because it affects their bottom line. The reduced health of their employees can lead to loss of productivity, loss of workforce morale and reduced return on training investment,” he said.
The 2006 conference in Atlanta is to be held at Georgia State University’s School of Public Health, and CIFAL Atlanta will welcome corporate involvement, Mr. Green said.
In the recent award ceremony, AID Atlanta also recognized Kaiser Permanente for its national efforts to combat AIDS, law firm Alston & Bird LLP for its efforts in the corporate community, The Reverend and Mrs. Joseph Lowery for their efforts in Georgia and community activist Edie Corfin for local community outreach.
Founded in 1982, AID Atlanta sponsors educational programs to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS and provides services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Atlanta area. There are approximately 27,000 people with HIV/AIDS in Georgia, the eighth highest population of any state in the United States.
According to Pan American Health Organization estimates, 3-5 million people are living with HIV in the Americas, and almost 800,000 people in the hemisphere have died as a result of AIDS since 1986.
Some 40.3 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide. In 2005, there were 5 million new infections worldwide, and some 3 million people died from diseases related to HIV/AIDS, including 500,000 children.
Contact Mr. Green at (404) 962-4837 or visit www.cifal-atlanta.org for more information about CIFAL’s programs.
Source: Leigh Miller for GlobalAtlanta
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