This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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World AIDS Day
01/12/2003
Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm today added his voice
to worldwide calls for an end to stigma and discrimination
against people affected by HIV and AIDS.
Speaking on World AIDS Day, Mr Chisholm said:
"As individuals, we need to recognise and understand the
facts about HIV/AIDS and practice simple, effective
prevention measures which can help in the fight against
this virus. Responsible personal behaviour, awareness and
respect for others contribute greatly to the origins and
objectives of World AIDS Day, and these are aspirations
which I wholeheartedly endorse.
"I would like to pay tribute to all those working in NHS
Scotland and in HIV voluntary organisations for their hard
work and dedication. Their efforts in the last 20 years
have helped ensure that HIV incidence in Scotland is not
comparable in scale to incidence rates in other parts of
the world. That said, we cannot be complacent nor can we
overlook the affect the virus does have on those in
Scotland who are infected and their loved ones.
"In the absence of a vaccine, prevention is of paramount
importance. Across Scotland a number of measures are in
place to increase prevention of the spread of HIV. Progress
on care and treatment, including the provision of
antiretroviral drugs, has also been significantly advanced
in recent years.
"We must continue to work to raise awareness of the
impact of HIV/AIDS, and to tackle discrimination wherever
it occurs, globally, nationally and locally.
Endorsing the Minister's comments, Roy Kirkpatrick,
Chief Executive of HIV Scotland said:
"People with HIV are only too well aware that HIV
follows the track of stigma and discrimination, made worse
by inequalities based on gender, ethnicity and sexuality.
Scotland is making progress combining legislation for
fairness and equality with practical support for the health
of people with HIV as well as to slow the progress of the
virus.
"HIV seems always to be a step ahead of us, however, and
is going to be with us for a long time. World AIDS Day
gives us the chance to reflect on individual and global
experiences of HIV. The experience of community activism,
national co-ordination, bold and imaginative leadership
which have worked in the first two decades of the epidemic
need to be taken a step further and made real for people in
all parts of the world if we are to make a difference in
the following decades."
Figures for HIV diagnoses in Scotland are available from
SCIEH at:
www.show.scot.nhs.uk/scieh.
As at Week 46 in 2003, 232 diagnoses of HIV had been
reported this year.
NHS Health Scotland continues to engage in prevention
activities and has issued booklets giving HIV advice to
travellers abroad and advice to employers on the issue of
HIV and bloodborne viruses in the workplace, recognising
that advances in treatment mean that more people with HIV
will continue to work or want to return to work -
http://www.hebs.com/healthscotland/
HIV Scotland, formerly the Scottish Voluntary HIV &
AIDS Forum, was launched in March 2003.
It is a voluntary sector policy organisation supporting
the voluntary sector's work in the field of HIV. It brings
together HIV voluntary organisations in Scotland to
exchange information and collaborate in the development of
common policy and strategy positions, committed as it is to
the promotion of the needs, effectiveness and value of the
sector's response to HIV/AIDS. HIV Scotland and its Healthy
Gay Scotland project are funded by the Scottish
Executive.