2nd Open Europe AIDS Conference 2004 in Vilnius, Lithuania Iveta Balode Latvian Red Crocs Youth leader

4,870,000

“The only way to cope with the problem is to take the matter seriously and to fight against the disease with cooperation of all possible instances and in all the areas of life” One of the most frequently used sentences in the conference

HIV pandemic has inflicted its worst damage on marginalized populations - injecting drug users, sex workers, refugees, asylum seekers, prisoners, and men having sex with men.HIV pandemic has inflicted its worst damage on marginalized populations - injecting drug users, sex workers, refugees, asylum seekers, prisoners, and men having sex with men. In Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the vast majority of HIV-positive people are injecting drug users.In Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the vast majority of HIV-positive people are injecting drug users.

Some believe that the state does not have an obligation to protect those who break the law. Others believe this to be a dangerous argument both from a human rights and public health standpoint.

Fight against HIV/AIDS starts with human beings. The fate of many will depend less on science or on decision makers than on the ability of large numbers of human beings to change their behavior and attitudes in the face of PLWHA.

Summing the conclusions of the conference, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have become valued members of the big HIV/AIDS network We give a vast number of human beings the knowledge and tools to personalize the issue.

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