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Vol. XLVIII No. 3, 2011 (17.10.2011)

Pursuing Peace: Commemorating Dag Hammarskjöld

Vol. XLVIII No. 2, 2011 (11.07.2011)

This issue is in commemoration of Dag Hammarskjöld, UN Secretary-General from 1953 to 1961.

The first issue of 2011 focuses on the ongoing battle against HIV/AIDS, now entering its fourth decade. Coinciding with the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS in June 2011, the issue looks back at lessons learned from the earliest advocates that fought bravely against the virus and the stigma that came with it. It celebrates the strides that have been made towards accomplishing Millennium Development Goal 6: halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. It also highlights new challenges, including the global inequality in access to treatment, persistent stigma, and the need for HIV prevention that women can use and contral.

The 4th Decade of AIDS: What is Needed to Reshape the Response

By Michel Sidibé

The international community has reached the first part of Millennium Development Goal 6: halting and reversing the spread of HIV. At least fifty-six countries have either stabilized or reduced new HIV infections by more than 25 per cent in the past ten years, and this is especially evident in sub-Saharan Africa, the region most affected by the epidemic. New HIV infections among children have dropped by 25 per cent, a significant step towards achieving the virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission by 2015. In addition, today more than five million people are on antiretroviral treatment, which has reduced AIDS-related deaths by more than 20 per cent in the past five years. However, with more than 33 million people living with HIV today, 2.6 million new HIV infections, and nearly 2 million deaths in 2009, the gains made in the AIDS response are fragile.

The United Nations Academic Impact

By Ban Ki-moon

Academic institutions have an invaluable role to play in strengthening the work of the United Nations. From research laboratories to seminar rooms, from lecture halls to informal gatherings in cafeterias, the search for innovative solutions to global challenges often begins on campus.

Impact of HIV/AIDS on Education and Poverty

By Nelson Ijumba

2011 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the first report of HIV, which came from the United States, where cases of an unusual disease were seen among young gay men. Thirty years later, the location and pace of the epidemic has changed dramatically. Globally, an estimated 33.3 million people are infected or living with HIV, of which 22.5 million are in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, of the 2.5 million children in the world estimated to be living with HIV, 2.3 million are in sub-Saharan Africa. Southern Africa, the most affected region, includes a number of middle- and lower-middle-income nations known as the hyperendemic countries. In South Africa alone, there are about 5.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS. In Swaziland, 42 per cent of women attending antenatal clinics are infected, with similar rates found elsewhere in the region. Many children are affected by the disease in a number of ways: they live with sick parents and relatives in households drained of resources due to the epidemic, and those who have lost parents are less likely to go to school or continue with their education.

Dag Hammarskjöld Stood Up for the UN on Development

By John Y. Jones

In his last years before his untimely death in Africa half a century ago, United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld challenged the colonial powers’ continued attempts to quell the quest for freedom that was sweeping the continent, and openly criticized those who tried to make “the Congo a happy hunting ground for [their own] national interests.”¹

Women and HIV

By Morolake Odetoyinbo

What is it with women and girls? Why are we always left behind? Why can’t we choose the things we want to be a part of? Why must we always race to the front, rather than be left peacefully alone when we would rather not partake? Is it because, as women, we are strong, powerful, and the foundation of our society?

When we started hearing about HIV in Motherland Nigeria, it was about men dying at the mines or long-distance truck drivers going home to die. But before you could form the words to thank God that women weren’t acquiring the nasty virus, common sense reminded you that whatever a man acquires—good or bad—will surely come home.