World AIDS Day in Mongolia reaches 300,000
31 January 2007
World AIDS Day – an annual event in Mongolia since 1997 – took place this year under the banner ‘Your promise – a future without AIDS’. Over 300,000 people were reached during a week-long programme of activities aimed at increasing the multi-sectoral response to HIV, coordinated by the Alliance linking organisation National AIDS Foundation.
This year’s activities placed emphasis on accountability; leadership and tackling the key barriers to implementing HIV programmes; and care and support services for people living with and affected by HIV and socially marginalised populations.
The high-profile events included a concert, a press conference and TV open discussions. Community- or province-based events also featured during the week, including talk shows, competitions and mobile voluntary counselling and testing services. Information, education and communication materials, condoms, lubricants and World AIDS Day posters were distributed throughout the country. In all, 21 organisations contributed to making World AIDS Day a success.
Some important decisions were announced at a media conference, where representatives of the Mongolian Government, international agencies and non-governmental organisations met with journalists from around 20 media organisations. The Mongolian Government announced a new allocation of Tg 13 million (just over US $11,000) towards the AIDS response in Mongolia. “This is not enough to meet the needs of the type of comprehensive response that we envisage, but it is a satisfactory initial gesture,” commented Vice Minister for Health Dr Otgonbold. The money is the first dedicated HIV budget allocation in Mongolia.
