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Around the world, an estimated 34 million people live with HIV. Despite increased awareness and prevention programs, another 2.5 million people are infected every year. Every year 1.7 million people die from AIDS-related illnesses.
At CUPE Ontario, we mourn this unnecessary loss of life, and our hearts go out to our members who contract HIV/AIDS. We support the United Nations goal of reaching zero new infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero discrimination.
As a union, we have spent the last 50 years standing up for fairness and against discrimination. People with HIV and AIDS continue to face terrible discrimination in our society. Too often they are blamed for their illness and shunned by their community. We must continue to raise awareness and to work to end discrimination in our workplaces and communities.
Today we would like give particular thanks to our members who play a front-line role in the fight to prevent new infections, to put an end to AIDS-related deaths and to stop the discrimination. Our members in health care provide treatment, our members in social services and at AIDS service agencies and in education work to raise awareness and to change conditions that are contributing to the spread of HIV and AIDS.
Sadly, the UN’s goals of “Reaching Zero” will be hampered here in Ontario by the austerity agendas of our federal, provincial and municipal governments. Cutting budgets and laying off staff in health care and social services means reducing the programs and services that exist to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
While CUPE Ontario members work tirelessly here in Canada, our country can do much more to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS around the world. On this World AIDS Day, we call on the federal government to pass legislation that will make it easier for our sisters and brothers in less developed countries to access affordable HIV/AIDS prescription drugs.
