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World AIDS Day Celebration

Wise up and wear red ribbons urged Dinagyang Jaycees

The Junior Chamber International Philippines, Metro Iloilo Dinagyang (Jaycees), an affiliate of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) urged the public to wise up and wear red ribbons to mark December 1 as the worldwide celebration of World AIDS Day.

In 2005 alone, over 3 million people acquired HIV or the Human Immunodefiency Symdrome Virus, the virus that causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which means there are now over 40 million people living with HIV and AIDS, said Mia Octaviano, 2006 president of the Dinagyang Jaycees.

These numbers are alarming despite best efforts from governments, non-profit organisations and healthcare practitioners around the world making HIV and AIDS a huge worldwide problem, added Octaviano.

Now on its 18th year of celebration, the World AIDS Day was first initiated after an international summit of health miniters in London in January 1988. It was relaized during the gathering that global effort is required to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Ted Aldwin Ong, executive vice-president of the Dinagyang Jaycees said, World AIDS Day is not only a one day activity. Planning for massivce education on these issue takes place throughout the year and it is a long-term educational effort in order to addresss the problem.

To mark the celebration, members of the JCIP Metro Iloilo Dinagyang will join in the Alay Lakad para sa Kalinong kag Katin-aran, an opening activity of the NGO-PO Week celebration (December 1) sponsored by the Iloilo Coalition of NGO's AND PO's (ICON).

The NGO-PO week and the World AIDS Day are two significant event happening in Iloilo. We will walk side-by-side with fellow professionals and development workers and will be pinning red ribbons to participants and guests to show to the world that the Ilonggos are encouraging governments to step up efforts to address this pressing global issue, concluded Octaviano.