At the annual World Health Assembly this week in Geneva, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu urged government leaders around the world to increase efforts to provide health care for all, particularly those suffering from diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS, river blindness and polio, Voice of America (VOA) News reports (voanews.com, 5/21).
“We have this calling to ensure peace and build good health,” Tutu told policymakers at the assembly. “Much disease and heartbreak is preventable if governments had the political will.”
According to VOA News, Tutu also rallied for support of the 15 Percent Now! campaign, which asks African countries to allocate at least 15 percent of their annual budgets to health care.
NEW! Scroll down to comment on this story.
Please click OK to confirm your comment and confirm you accept our posting rules. Note your message will be reviewed by our staff before going live.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
