On Monday, US AIDS activists in Philadelphia and NYC joined a global week of action called for by the Treatment Action Campaign and the AIDS & Rights Alliance of Southern Africa. We took to the streets to demand that President Obama keep his promise to fund AIDS programs. It was the first day of the Millennium Development Goals Conference, where world leaders were gathered to discuss progress on poverty goals, including a pledge to halt the spread of HIV by 2015. Obviously, with growing reports of people being unable to access AIDS treatment, even while new research shows conclusively that HIV treatment reduces a person's chance of transmitting HIV by 92%, there is much work to be done. Ten million people still lack access to life-saving medication. And President Obama has not kept his promise to fund global AIDS programs at $50 billion over five years. Instead, he has proposed a tiny 2% increase to funding from 2010 to 2011.
In NYC, dozens of people gathered and marched to the UN, under a giant balloon that read "Obama: Fund AIDS Now". They held a "die-in" near the UN, to symbolize the effect of Obama's broken AIDS funding promises. In Philadelphia, one hundred activists stood in a line that stretched along a city block, to show the reality of Obama's broken promise. They then marched to the doors of a fundraiser that President Obama would be attending later that day.
To explain our demands in a way anyone could understand, we've put together a simple video:
Click here to watch the video and learn how you can take action. If you like it, share it via facebook and twitter with your friends!
Check out press coverage of the action, as well as more photos from the action, at www.heatlhgap.org/mdg.
Coming up next: Massive actions across Africa, led by a major mobilization in Nairobi, on Sept 28th. And on Sept 29th, we'll take our demands to Congress for a hearing on PEPFAR progress.
Momentum is building! Stay tuned for how you can help make sure everyone has access to medication, no matter where they live.
PS - Can you make a donation to help Health GAP continue our activism to push Obama to keep his promise? Just $25 will make a huge impact. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation.
Photos courtesy of Lucky Michaels, Housing Works, and Kaytee Riek.
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