There are 42 million people in the world right now living with HIV/AIDS, and 8,000 people dying of the disease every day.

Around 95 per cent of these victims live in the developing world, and seven out of ten in sub-Saharan Africa.

The spread of HIV/AIDS is accelerated by poverty, migration, conflict and gender inequality. If it is to be halted, it is essential that effective education is in place; that women and girls are given more economic rights, and better access to preventative measures, care and treatment; and that there is community support for HIV/AIDS sufferers.

Since Oxfam’s mission is to decrease poverty and suffering, tackling HIV/AIDS is central to our concerns. We are responding to the crisis on several levels.

Taking action

Firstly, we aim to incorporate action on the disease into all our development and humanitarian programmes. As an example, our livelihoods programmes aim to be productive but low on labour intensity – which means HIV-positive people with low energy levels can still participate.

Secondly, Oxfam supports specific HIV/AIDS programmes which respond to the epidemic in a direct manner, such as raising awareness of the virus, or working directly with migrants who are vulnerable to infection.

Lastly, Oxfam’s global campaigning concerning HIV/AIDS is focused on two issues: improving access to essential medicines, and lobbying for increased effectiveness of the Global Fund in fighting diseases. Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign is linked to this, since it lobbies against international trade rules that prevent easy access to medicines (such as AIDS treatment drugs) in poor countries.