Happy Birthday to Carrie Yeo, Pamela, Zhen Hao Li and Jess
Today is World's AIDS Day...
And I'm not even gonna start off with the World's AIDS Day concert which took place at Fort Canning Park on Saturday... had no interest in going for it due to 'certain reasons'. Perhaps it did help that a drama focusing on AIDS sufferers was shown recently on Channel 8, helping to increase awareness on what exactly AIDS is and how it is transmitted.
Today is World's AIDS Day...
And I'm not even gonna start off with the World's AIDS Day concert which took place at Fort Canning Park on Saturday... had no interest in going for it due to 'certain reasons'. Perhaps it did help that a drama focusing on AIDS sufferers was shown recently on Channel 8, helping to increase awareness on what exactly AIDS is and how it is transmitted.
I remembered one time when me and my family visited a certain orphanage in Thailand for infants/toddlers infected with HIV some 14 years ago. Seeing the pictures of the kids (about 5 or 6 of them) on the board was rather heartbreaking, esp when one of them had passed away at abt 11 mths old, about a week prior to our visit. And I still kept the patched-up toy dog made by one of the kids in due respect to them.
Here's a news report on the big challenges the government all around the world have to face in the next 20 years...
As World AIDS Day is marked on Monday, the fight against the disease remains stymied by the of adequate treatment in poor countries and setbacks in finding an effective vaccine, experts say.
To be sure, there have been plenty of advances over the past two decades. While 33 million people have the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) virus that causes AIDS, more are enjoying healthier, longer lives thanks to powerful new medications.
Organisers of World AIDS Day -- built around the themes of leadership, self-responsibility and activism -- are calling on governments to follow through on promises of universal treatment, prevention, care and support.
"We have effective treatments. We have no other choice than to offer them to all those who need them," said Jean-Francois Delfraissy, head of the French National Research Agency on AIDS and viral hepatitis (ANRS).
On Friday, the United Nations urged countries to focus on the roots of the epidemic and draw on a panoply of tried-and-tested tools to help HIV from spreading among people most at risk.
"There is no single magic bullet for HIV prevention," said outgoing UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot.
Hopes for such a magic bullet were shattered last year, when scientists were forced to abandon two advanced clinical trials of an AIDS vaccine by pharmaceutical company Merck, after they appeared to actually heighten the risk of infection.
But AIDS research was given a boost in October when the 2008 Nobel Medicine Prize was bestowed to a pair of scientists who discovered HIV. Researchers have also discovered new molecules and have launched tests on new triple treatments that have proved effective for patients no longer responding to other therapies.
Meanwhile, research on finding an effective AIDS shot continues. US scientists recently discovered a gene that may pave the way for a vaccine. Delfraissy, of ANRS, also predicts a revival in basic research to find molecules capable of attacking the virus at a stage where it has not yet been detected. Scientists are also interested in the cases of some HIV-positive people who never develop full-blown AIDS.
"We have an impressive arsenal," said Father Pierre-Marie Girard, who heads the infectious disease unit for the Saint Antoine Hospital in Paris.
One mark of success, he said, is those with HIV today talk of living and aging well with the virus -- with hopes of enjoying the same lifespan as those without.
Full report can be found here... http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20081130/tts-health-aids-un-challenges-c1b2fc3.html
As World AIDS Day is marked on Monday, the fight against the disease remains stymied by the of adequate treatment in poor countries and setbacks in finding an effective vaccine, experts say.
To be sure, there have been plenty of advances over the past two decades. While 33 million people have the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) virus that causes AIDS, more are enjoying healthier, longer lives thanks to powerful new medications.
Organisers of World AIDS Day -- built around the themes of leadership, self-responsibility and activism -- are calling on governments to follow through on promises of universal treatment, prevention, care and support.
"We have effective treatments. We have no other choice than to offer them to all those who need them," said Jean-Francois Delfraissy, head of the French National Research Agency on AIDS and viral hepatitis (ANRS).
On Friday, the United Nations urged countries to focus on the roots of the epidemic and draw on a panoply of tried-and-tested tools to help HIV from spreading among people most at risk.
"There is no single magic bullet for HIV prevention," said outgoing UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot.
Hopes for such a magic bullet were shattered last year, when scientists were forced to abandon two advanced clinical trials of an AIDS vaccine by pharmaceutical company Merck, after they appeared to actually heighten the risk of infection.
But AIDS research was given a boost in October when the 2008 Nobel Medicine Prize was bestowed to a pair of scientists who discovered HIV. Researchers have also discovered new molecules and have launched tests on new triple treatments that have proved effective for patients no longer responding to other therapies.
Meanwhile, research on finding an effective AIDS shot continues. US scientists recently discovered a gene that may pave the way for a vaccine. Delfraissy, of ANRS, also predicts a revival in basic research to find molecules capable of attacking the virus at a stage where it has not yet been detected. Scientists are also interested in the cases of some HIV-positive people who never develop full-blown AIDS.
"We have an impressive arsenal," said Father Pierre-Marie Girard, who heads the infectious disease unit for the Saint Antoine Hospital in Paris.
One mark of success, he said, is those with HIV today talk of living and aging well with the virus -- with hopes of enjoying the same lifespan as those without.
Full report can be found here... http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20081130/tts-health-aids-un-challenges-c1b2fc3.html
More info on World's AIDS Day can be found here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_AIDS_Day
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