Women, are most vulnerable to HIV and AIDS,

To prove it, we could show you women being hurt, women suffering, women dying.

Instead, this film gives you facts…

…and dozens of ways women are leading change in the fight against HIV and AIDS worldwide.

If you are a woman, listen closely. This film is for you.

Men, listen as well, we need your partnership.

And finally, if you are a policymaker, you should listen, and then act.

I deserve it. I'm a woman. I'm a mother. I'm a sister. I'm an aunt. I'm a wife. I deserve happiness, not pain. I deserve to be loved, not to be beaten. I deserve to be free. I deserve to be a woman, not a slave. My heart is big as an apple. My soul is as deep as two oceans. My smile is as bright as nothing. My freedom is the freedom of the nation. Let me be the woman I deserve to be.

The HIV virus responsible for the global AIDS pandemic does not hesitate, but it does discriminate. It takes advantage of people that are least empowered to make the right choices.

Among its favourite targets, the poor, the uneducated, the misinformed and sadly, women.

And they had five girls. And in our traditional setting, girls do not constitute children as such.

So these parents died; left five girls. The oldest was sixteen. And the youngest was barely four years old. Now, the night before the father was buried, the uncles chased the girls away from the home. Why? Because these are girls, they need to be chased away so that they can inherit the land that the father has left. Because the girls are not supposed to remain in the homestead. They should go and the uncles can take up the land. So, whatever the parents owned, it should be taken away.

The girls never… I am not supposed to inherit anything, traditionally, from my father.

Although the Kenyan law now has provision that every child has equal rights to inheritance.

So these girls were chased away. It's the neighbours who realized that these girls have been chased away and out of the outcry the local administrator got together with the neighbours and the friends and were able to enforce that these children should be allowed to stay in the home; that they had a right.

Women are biologically, culturally, socially and economically vulnerable to HIV and AIDS.

But women are fighting back and are taking initiative.

We are challenging the stigma and discrimination faced by women and family members living with HIV and AIDS.

We are lobbying for research and for better care.

And we are pressing our leaders to make AIDS, and in particular its impact on women, a priority.

We want to turn the tide.

But how do you get millions of people, that means every single one of us, to individually change our behaviour?

And in the case of women, all too often it is not our own behaviour that puts us at risk.

First, let's re-examine and adapt cultural practices which fuel the epidemic to the new reality of AIDS in our society.

We also need initiatives and community support to build socio-economic environments that allow us to make wiser lifestyle choices.

We even have to change the way we make love to ensure it is safe for us, for our partners and for our children.

And we definitely take care of those already infected.

We may not have all the answers, and none of them will immediately stop the pandemic, but one thing is certain, Women are leading change with ideas and concrete action, one step at a time, one issue at a time, and one woman at a time.

Disrespect for women's rights, works in favour of HIV and AIDS.

Making decisions requires empowerment, the ability to say yes, no, maybe…

But the reality is that many women are in no position to make choices. They are still fighting for their rights.

Women, still feel disadvantaged, especially the young women, because of lack of education. So, they still are at the lowest spectrum of society. There is inequality in work, in education, and then it flows over into their sexual relationship.

Yes, in the era of space exploration and advanced technology, many women still have to demand, and struggle for, the right to education, land ownership or business ownership, not to mention basic access to health.

When a woman lives in a society where cultural and religious taboos deny her the same rights as her husband. She can't tell him to put on a condom.

You are still having women, most of them, they don't have that right, or a say in the sexuality. Sometimes they don't have a choice. If the man feels like having sex in the relationship, it's perceived as a cultural role.

Women must have the freedom to choose.

Together, with men, women have to build safer and healthier communities.

A country or society cannot make progress, in any sphere, if half of its population is not given equal rights to participate and protect themselves.

Governments and communities must recognize and uphold women’s rights.

Some cultural traditions, increase women's vulnerability to the HIV virus.

Decisions are also based on culture.

To respect traditions and do things that will please our family and community is natural.

But what if those practices encourage the spread of a deadly virus?

Times have changed. My grandparents did not have TV, portable phones or condoms. I do.

The choices I make today on how to use these affects not just my lifestyle but future generations as well.

I believe that women, especially mothers, can be the first to change culture.

As challenging as it may be, we can help our children to talk openly about sex. An informed child is far better equipped to handle challenges, including HIV.

As mothers, women can, in fact, challenge a host of outdated customs. But to do so, we need to be well informed about the issues.

And we need the support of our partners in this effort -- husbands, brothers, community leaders. Together, we can challenge the traditions that have allowed HIV to spread.

Women are asking opinion leaders to use their influence to raise awareness.

Opinion leaders have a responsibility to use their influence to fight HIV AIDS.

The most popular girl in her class, a business owner, a first lady, an actress or a singer. When these people do something, others easily follow.

For this reason, we must encourage partnerships with opinion leaders. Let us work with them to take advantage of what their celebrity status can do to save lives.

I got involved with the issue of AIDS a few years ago when I heard the appalling statistic that 90% of people who suffer from AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa and actually, 90% of the resources are spent in the developed world, which was like being hit over the head with a bottle.

So I started to travel to try and educate myself about what was really going on. And, during those travels, principally in Uganda and Mozambique, I discovered that most of the front line people, as it were, in the trenches of the AIDS battle, were women, dispossessed for one reason or another. Perhaps because they had been infected by their husbands, who had then left. Because women, generally speaking, do get blamed for bringing the infection into the household.

Or for instance, even in one case, I met a woman who once asked her husband to wear a condom, at which point he 'vamoosed.'

So, I realized that the disease, which is a global emergency of enormous proportions; the greatest catastrophe that has really faced the human race in our entire history, the greatest disease catastrophe, was impacting women and children even more than men and that we really did need to address that.

From my own perspective, I'm an artist, to use rather a grand word, well an actor and a writer, which is what I do. I'm a communicator. And I think that all artists, are tremendously useful in such a battle. There are many people suffering from this disease, with no voice, and we have louder voices than most, because we're big mouths, and because the media will give us attention. So I would call upon all artists to come and help. Because I don't think, honestly, that this is an emergency that anyone can sit back and ignore. I think we all have to be active.

Personally, I don't want to have to tell my four year old in twenty years time when she asks me what I did, in reaction to the world's worst human catastrophe in memory; I would just prefer not to have to say, "nothing."

Can making love to a virgin cure AIDS? Incredibly, some think so…

Is it right for a 65 year old man to marry a 15 year old girl? Is it right for us to accept it?

Granted, to many families, it may be a convenient, or even necessary means, of ensuring a daughter's future.

But even without passing judgement, in highly affected areas, older men are likely to be HIV positive.

Unfortunately some men believe that having sex with a virgin, cures AIDS. This belief leads to the abuse of children, young girls and nuns. This is completely a misguided belief and has to disappear.

Furthermore, younger girls, in addition to being biologically more vulnerable, are definitely less likely to understand the importance of safe sex or have the ability to insist on it.

Some girls want to study so badly that they agree to have sex with older men to pay for their tuition. It happens more than people think. These men pay young girls to be their 'girlfriends'. Even the ones who stay in school, see this as their only funding option. There must be better ways of supporting the dreams and ambitions of our youth.

I remember in high school being ridiculed and really laughed at by my classmates in A-levels because the clothes I was wearing were not considered the in thing. And I remember the girl who really ridiculed me had a very rich sugar daddy. And so she had everything she needed to have. And so it was really very common.

Some traditional practices are harmful to women.

Widow inheritance, a common cultural practice in many places in Africa has the potential of spreading HIV and AIDS.

Originally, widow inheritance was meant to ensure a woman's security and her continued relationship with her extended family. A relative of the dead husband was therefore entrusted with both sexual and economic responsibility over the widow.

The problem is that the HIV positive husband who died will likely have infected his wife who will now infect her next husband, who may have the potential to pass it on further.

Throughout life, most of us have more than one partner. That's exactly how this virus spreads.

In countries like my own, it has become common among younger generations to have many sexual partners during our lifetime. This is a personal choice for each one of us to make, but with that choice comes responsibility.

For those that are sexually active, getting tested to know your status, being faithful to one partner and having sex with a condom are the only safe options for protecting ourselves and our partners from HIV.

I'm angry at men who lead lives that endanger many women without taking their own responsibility for their behaviour; men who know, or may not even know, that they are HIV positive but they know that today there's HIV virus and it's dangerous to have several partners without taking the necessary precautions if they must persist with their behaviour. I get angry because they are being irresponsible. They are infecting many because every partner they interact with is going to infect others.

Women, do not assume you are negative. Please get tested.

Generally, you cannot tell if your partner has AIDS from just looking at them. For this reason, many community groups, associations, clinics, hospitals and even countries have started voluntary, anonymous and free HIV testing and counselling.

Information campaigns to help people understand the importance of testing and counselling are absolutely essential.

All women, regardless of age, race or culture, should take advantage of testing and counselling options. Go now, don't hesitate. And encourage your partners to do so as well.

Sex workers face many risks, including HIV and AIDS; their clients do too.

Beyond voluntary sex, we enter the arena of sex work.

When it is a choice, sex work is a difficult decision. When it is forced, it is a crime.

In either case, such women operate in difficult and dangerous circumstances.

We have legalised prostitution in our country. But the prostitutes and a number of other groups, and a lot of the brothel keepers, have made it mandatory for condoms to be used. But there are incidents now of women who are operating freelance, etc. are sometimes being very badly beaten and abused because they have insisted on a condom.

And as regards HIV AIDS, one infected sex worker can spread the virus to many men each night.

What communities need to do is to find ways of integrating these women and provide them with alternative means of livelihood.

Trafficking of women for the sex industry is very profitable for organized crime.

For several decades the women’s movement has been protesting against this trade but only recently have some governments begun to react, sometimes not so much to protect the exploited women and girls, but more for their own reasons of security.

Trafficking in women must be stopped. Governments must identify the criminal rings that run this trade. National information and education campaigns must be initiated. Trafficking in human beings must be made a criminal offence in all countries.

Should religious practices, that contradict modern medical findings, be re-examined?

Religion has been the basis of great cultural traditions for centuries.

However, not all religious practices are compatible with modern realities. Some dogma go against modern medical findings.

Other dogma do not uphold women's rights.

We must change these practices knowing that these changes do not in any way diminish one's personal faith, but they can save lives.

We need to work more closely with faith-based organizations.

Encouragingly, many are now tackling issues of stigma and discrimination and addressing the issues of children living with HIV or orphaned by AIDS.

But we also need religions to acknowledge and explore all aspects of this pandemic, including prevention and access to care for all people living with the virus. It does not matter how people become infected. This is a disease, it is not a sin or a punishment.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) still exists and continues to pose a threat.

Certain cultural practices such as female circumcision are clearly harmful to the health of women and girls. Female circumcision, practiced in some African communities is clearly a genital mutilation; it permanently damages the reproductive system of the woman.

From an HIV standpoint, female genital mutilation is also dangerous because it is usually practiced in unsanitary conditions and with shared instruments that spread the virus.

The system that continually requires that women damage themselves to be socially accepted violates their human rights.

I was young, I was probably nine years old. I was scared of it. I didn't know what it entailed but I knew that part of my body was going to be cut off.

And my mom was scared too. But it was part of the society, it had to be done. So when it came to that, it is usually done at Christmas time, December is the longest holiday, the girls of the same age, in that village, had to go through that on one day.

So I was informed on a Saturday night that it was going to be done on the following day. And I remember I didn't sleep. I was so scared, I was so scared. So we were woken up very early in the morning, before dawn. I don't remember how many we were, but all I know is that I walked there like a zombie.

It was done under very traditional circumstances. And I remember screaming, and I remember the torture. So it's something that I promised, I never went back there. Traditionally, every year you will join in with the next group to take the girls every year, but I never went back there. So it's something that I still remember very vividly, how it happened. And, that split second, using a raw knife, which is not, you know, a knife that you even buy from the shop. So it's something that has very, very vivid - it's very vivid in my mind.

Female genital mutilation practitioners are well respected in their societies. National and local authorities must find ways of retraining them into new occupations.

Women who suffer violence, do not have the freedom to choose safe sex.

We have established that women need the freedom to make choices.

Women who are raped, beaten and otherwise threatened cannot make these choices.

They are scared.

They no longer have the ability or even the motivation to demand safe sex.

They are afraid to go for an HIV test.

The stigma attached to AIDS is sometimes worse than being diagnosed with the disease itself.

There is one thing common between rape and HIV/AIDS. Not only is your body violated but also the spirit.

Victims of violation need our support not our moral judgements.

One lady, she called the police. And the lady, who was being beaten, she refused to talk openly, because she was afraid of the guy, and the case was closed.

Sexual crimes are the most horrendous acts of violence against women, because they demean women in every imaginable way.

And yet, sexual crimes are most often committed by trusted people such as husbands, close family members or friends.

Sexual crimes against women must be prosecuted.

If the men will stop beating their wife, their family will never break. It will grow, like a family tree. A real man never beats his wife, never.

We need more women to be in positions of leadership.

Leadership starts at home.

Mothers, and fathers, value your daughters and encourage them to participate in civic life. We have so much to give.

I call upon all the young girls of the world to believe in our ability to lead change.

I also call upon men to see the value of having strong women by their side. Isn't teamwork a true and tested concept? Isn't two better than one and a half?

Women are half of the world's population.

Women make scientific breakthroughs, build business empires and lead countries.

We also give birth to and raise all of humanity.

Why then aren't we more present in national, regional and local government?

First and foremost, I would continue what they're doing and expand what they're doing which is let every little girl know that she is precious she is valuable, and she is equal.

Because if you look at the world, that is a message that has not really caught on yet, in most parts. So first you've got to know you have a power, a value inside yourself, and that your life ought not be trivialized or made less valuable by the society.

But really, what I was doing was learning that inside every woman is a power, and it's a power not just to react, to the boys or to the men in your life.

I think many men misunderstand what we mean by the empowerment of women. They see it as competition. I see it as collaboration.

It's time to act.

By now, I hope the point is clear: women, young and old, need resources to fight AIDS.

Poverty, ignorance, discrimination and sex work increase our vulnerability.

We cannot keep waiting for social conditions to improve, hoping that an affordable cure for AIDS will come soon.

We have to help ourselves.

Women need to catalyse change in their own lives and communities.

Michelle and Afia speak freely about sex.

Do women in Pakistan talk about sex openly?

No, I mean we don't even have a word for sex in our language, in my language, Urdu. We don't have a casual word for sex. Unless it's in the context of adultery. So it's hard for men and women to talk about it. But women, on the whole, are more aware of contraceptive use, mostly because the responsibility of contraception is considered to be a woman's responsibility not so much as a man's responsibility.

Did you talk about sex with your mother.

Very late in life. Very late. I think I was sixteen, after I had read about the reproductive organs in class ten. It's not the normal thing for even women to talk to their daughters about sex and what it means.

So you got most of your sex education from school?

It wasn't sex education, it was more biology, if I may say so. It was in the context of biology. We didn't know what sex was, until in college we began to see that there were girls who were dating.

Women need economic independence, without it, they do not have the freedom to choose.

Much can be done at the community level to help improve women's wealth.

Economic self-reliance enables people to make choices, this in itself is empowering.

For women to benefit from economic independence they must have access to property, land ownership, and skills.

Women also need to access funding and credit, in order for them to make progress in business and entrepreneurship.

Case in point, women have proven their credibility, they are by far the most responsible borrowers, consistently paying back their loans.

Economic independence for women is extremely important in the fight against HIV and AIDS because, among other things, it gives women the confidence to make choices including to negotiate safer sex.

Poorly educated women are more vulnerable to HIV infection.

Schooling creates rigour.

It builds friendships.

And it establishes the foundations of equality.

We need to fund it. We need to encourage children to finish it. We need to make sure their learning environment is safe and, in addition to traditional curricula, we should teach our kids job-oriented skills.

I am one of the lucky ones. I was given the opportunity to explore and pursue my ambitions all the way through university.

I know that many girls are not so lucky. I know some leave school because they cannot afford it or because their family needs additional income, for example, when a father or mother has died of AIDS.

I know, I am fortunate. And I know I have a responsibility towards those who are less fortunate.

A country's progress can be measured by its government's investment in the education of its people.

Increasing security budgets, at the expense of educational ones, is ultimately an investment in insecurity.

Truth and knowledge, not lies or misconceptions

Formal education on HIV and AIDS is essential. But society at large, including adults of all ages, needs to know the truth. There are still too many misconceptions about HIV and AIDS.

I don't think the information is out there. We talk about it around the first of December, because it is World AIDS Day, but during the rest of the year, there isn't that much out there in the media, that I can see. I mean you can see it in the doctor's waiting room, there's a pamphlet or two, or a poster.

But then even in our own countries where we keep saying AIDS, AIDS, AIDS; but then maybe they're not addressing some of the misconceptions, and just getting out the basic information, over and over and over.

But as you say, it comes from Africa, so to us it's so far away.

But it's also here.

I know.

It's also here.

But when you read it in the papers, you only read about Africa. You only read about places where they have lots of cases. But you don't read about cases in your own country unless something terrible happens.

Because when I went to school in Austria, I mean this topic was completely taboo, you didn't talk about it.

I personally don't know anybody that has openly said they are HIV positive.

Something exists, but it's far away from my personal life.

You don't see your neighbours, depending where you live, personally, I don't know anybody who is HIV positive.

I would say that women are less likely to get AIDS than men because they are less promiscuous than men, in general.

Women are more vulnerable because I think they don't have this… A man can say no, a woman it's very difficult saying no… they think that when you say no, it means yes.

Women and men at the grassroots level, are sharing knowledge with their peers.

Those who understand HIV and AIDS should share with others what they know. Peer counselling, for example, is showing results in southern Africa. There, young people that are better informed, share their knowledge with kids their own age.

I was very curious, because I haven't heard of the approach before and she told us that it was based on some research that actually revealed that young people preferred to talk to young people and I could relate to that because at that point in time with my fellow friends at the university I really preferred to share all my problems, happiness or whatever it was with them rather than with elderly persons.

After we were trained as trainers, we had to go to different schools in Katatura, to start off the training of peer counsellors. So we were packed in twos. A friend and I were assigned to Jan Jonker secondary school and for some reason, I don't know, maybe because of the way we presented the programme to the young people, we had a huge group of young people.

When I joined the Y in my fourth year, to do my internship, I think that was the time we started to develop a curriculum on HIV AIDS because then we decided it is really a need.

There's this taboo thing still about sex and sexuality and it's affected our young people to not have open relationships with their parents or elderly persons to talk about issues around sex and sexuality. If you can talk to a friend, your classmate that you can trust, about issues around sexuality or HIV and you are sure that that person will give you the correct factual information then why not. Because if peer counsellors are not there, then young people would go to fellow friends, yes, but who may be uninformed, who could give them the total opposite information when it comes to the contraction of HIV and AIDS.

Like, for example, if you have had sex with someone who you think is HIV positive or who is HIV positive you can just take a shower and rinse yourself there and voila, you know, the virus will be gone. Such kind of myths exist.

In all fairness, many governments have spent time and money publicizing the dangers of HIV and AIDS.

But many AIDS campaigns don't speak the language of the targeted audience. Kids have their own symbolism, as do older people and yes, women do too.

Women worldwide, are often unaware of the realities of sex.

Education also happens at home, and not just table manners.

Sex, as well as drugs and alcohol must be discussed.

Youngsters want to know the truth, the problem is they don't know who to ask.

Parents obviously know the details but they are not willing to discuss them with their children.

Mothers, aunts, older sisters and friends, teach us about sex, reproductive organs, pleasure without multiple partners, pregnancy, contraception and sexually transmitted infections.

Instead of trying to stop the pandemic by preaching no sex, teach us about good sex and how to protect ourselves.

Women are often unable to gain access to basic health care.

We have talked about the root causes of HIV and AIDS.

We have looked at ways of avoiding the virus.

But the reality is that tens of millions of people, tens of millions, are living with HIV and AIDS right now. Women all over the world, maybe your sister or neighbour, wake up every morning, to the reality of the disease.

Those with access to sophisticated health care are slightly luckier. For them, daily life is easier.

But for the rest, health care and drugs are an illusion.

Pharmaceuticals need people to be alive to buy their drugs. If they had more people alive, buying Aspirin, they would make much more profit than if they had millions of people dead.

All over the world, right now, there are HIV positive women that are unable to obtain a test, unable to get care, unable to gain access to drugs.

Sometimes it is the government's fault.

Other times it is a financial issue.

At times community stigma simply keeps them away.

What are all responsible parties waiting for?

We need antiretrovirals.

We need support for home-based care.

We need free and anonymous testing and counselling.

I'm sorry, but this really makes me angry, to think that nations are willing to fund millions of dollars to wage war, but only their loose change to make drugs available to HIV positive people.

Where are our values? Can governments, pharmaceutical firms and businesses not see that HIV positive people need affordable care and treatment? Can such a smart species not see the value of its own survival?

Women are discouraged from speaking openly about their HIV status.

Truth is a scary thing.

Speaking out can be hard especially when someone is HIV positive.

They don't want anyone else to know about it.

But silence and denial only feeds ignorance.

We can no longer afford to remain silent.

We are all infected and affected by this pandemic.

Our stories need to be heard so that more and more women have the courage to speak out.

Families, friends, our openness will help a person living with HIV AIDS to come out of denial.

Women are fighting stigma and exclusion.

Unfortunately, however, women that are open about their HIV status, are sometimes cast aside.

They are made to feel guilty.

They are sometimes beaten, and even killed.

It's very bad, because what happens is, the Jamaican society, because of a certain degree of lack of education about the whole HIV issue, what you find happening is that, if men have it, you're stigmatised by the society as being a homosexual, because they believe that once you're a homosexual that's how you have the virus. So once the men have it, they're seen as a homosexual. The woman, once they have it, they are a prostitute.

Yes, stigma is an ugly concept.

It implies that someone is a scar, a blemish, a disgrace.

Yet women living with HIV AIDS, are no different than before.

They are the same caring, productive and intelligent beings that came unto this Earth. Women, don't hide. We need you.

Why do you think there's so much stigma and prejudice against people that have AIDS, when people find out?

It's fear.

Fear.

Yeah, I think that right from the beginning it was perceived as highly contagious, and the wrong information was given. Like for example in the early cases of children with AIDS in schools in the States for example; how the parents of other children demanded that that child be expelled, which is an abomination, when you think about it. Just because the information was not given correctly and those other parents feared for their own children.

I don’t see that there's any danger in having a friend that's HIV positive.

Stigma costs more than integration. A working person living with HIV or AIDS generates revenues for medicines and care.

Fortunately, women are taking care of people living with HIV and AIDS, and their orphans.

Women have always been the world's healers. We bring families, tribes and nations together. We can fight stigma. We can embrace people living with HIV AIDS. One such shining light is Asenath.

My brother died in May, and the wife died in around August. It was really hard. One of the sons was sitting for a major national exam. By then they knew. I'm the one who went to pick him from school. I had to tell him.

It was difficult for them to recognize that, yes, the father had died, and now the mother, they knew, it was imminent, it was coming. And you could see the sense of insecurity.

They were thrown out of their own house. They went from one rental house to the other. And we were the ones that were trying to support them. One thing I've come to realize, it's very difficult to care for orphans. And I feel so bad and angry that at least one parent cannot remain to care for their children. It's like they are angry that they are orphans. And they don't know how to direct this anger. So it's like everybody, inclusive, is responsible for the loss of their parents.

Seeing him, of course they could see him, deteriorate physically. And it was always very, very disheartening and they could cry, they were very stressed.

We must do it, but it is true, caring for a family member with AIDS is stressful, expensive and requires support. It takes commitment, time and effort.

Finding volunteers to help is difficult when many are themselves faced with similar situations and poverty.

Governments, and other institutions, should provide appropriate care facilities for AIDS patients who are unable to obtain care at home, thus supporting communities and families that are already overstretched.

When a child falls and cuts herself, we react. We want to know if the child is all right.

The same is true for someone who has lost their job. Do we stop caring or do we encourage them to carry on?

Let's not treat women living with HIV and AIDS any differently. They need our concern and support. They do not deserve neglect.

My only worry is about the small girl who is five years. She is still very young and she needs somebody to support her. So, I actually don't know what will happen to her so I'm still going around looking for people who can foster her when I'm not around.

Those who are ill, must also be encouraged to take care of themselves. Faced with a deadly disease, it is easy to lose hope.

Please, if you are infected, don’t neglect yourself. Stick with your treatment.

You have so much to give to your family and to your community. Through you, they can see hope.

Without you, they too will lose it.

Women are often coerced into having sex without condoms.

One thing governments and organizations have realized is that the proper use of condoms can prevent sexually transmitted infections.

Getting a sustainable supply chain to a remote desert town is a challenge. Urban dwellers, including those responsible for policy, forget that distant rural areas do not have condom distribution channels.

This said, ngo's are working hard, with governments, to ensure broad distribution.

Condoms should also be reimbursed by the national health care systems. Condoms are one of the few weapons women, and men, have against HIV and a long list of other sexually transmitted infections.

As for men who think condoms are uncool, unmanly or uncomfortable take a visit to the local graveyard and you'll see that a grave is much more uncomfortable.

For me, in Brazil, I think teenager age, or maybe twenties, I remember that we were maybe three friends and we were so curious to see a condom, and we wanted to go to this drugstore but nobody had the courage to go in there and ask for a condom. And finally we did, but we felt, later we felt good, but we were so ashamed to do that.

I think female controlled prevention methods are extremely important because of the situation that women find themselves in most of the developing world. If they have to depend on partner cooperation, they can be in serious trouble because their partner is either not willing to communicate honestly with their women, their women partners, about what their situation is and women are not in a position to demand with whom and when they have sex; they're not in a position to demand that that be made safer than it is.

Female controlled methods are extremely important. There are two major options for female controlled methods. One is with us now, and one is coming. The one that's with us now is the female condom. The problem with the female condom is that the current recommendation is that it cannot be reused. And we're in a vicious circle where the demand isn't high enough to make the price low enough. But it's there. Sex workers are using it in some countries and it seems to work well. The problem is that you can't do it without your partner knowing. I mean your partner's going to know you're using a female condom.

The good news is that we know that we can get a microbicide to work. There are many trials. There are five effectiveness trials underway right now; that's the good news. The bad news is we're still probably about five years away from having an effective microbicide that can be mass distributed and we're about seven hundred million dollars short of what we think it will cost to really get a microbicide on the market.

Women are working to make HIV and AIDS a global priority.

So what do we do now, while the scientific community seeks a remedy? And by 'we' I mean all of us from governments, through multilateral organizations and NGOs, right down to caring citizens; ordinary people like you and me.

For starters, we definitely continue disseminating information.

We help keep children in school.

We provide women with the right combination of resources and opportunities to protect themselves from infection.

We reduce stigma and discrimination by creating environments in which women will seek information, testing, treatment and support.

Condoms, we keep them coming. I could go on.

The point is that understanding the situation in which women live and knowing that we could actually change it for the better should cause rage, not despair. It should spur action, not denial. How can we stand by and do nothing?

How can we stand by and do nothing?

Keep in mind what we are dealing with.

HIV and AIDS.

Don't wait until it's your own sister, daughter or friend…

…or you.

I have the trouble in matching the words of the leaders to the actions that they take and to the funding that they give to their words.

We have an emergency on our hands. We are talking about the single most deadly epidemic in recent human history. A pandemic that has already killed millions, and is showing no signs of retreat.

The only choice is to make prevention and care our priority.

No, I don't have the answer. And, if I was in their place, what would I do different? I ask myself. What would I do different? I somehow feel that HIV AIDS requires to go back to what the economists used to do when they go back to the zero budgeting and zero thinking and then begin from there.

Begin really again from a clean slate of saying here we are in our thinking about the economy of this country, the education of this country, the health of this country. How can we be able to run an education system in the era of HIV AIDS? How shall we run a church, a mosque, a religious group in the era of HIV AIDS? That we would look at it and ask new questions.

HIV/AIDS is not a television news story.

It is in our lives all around us.

AIDS ravages families and friends worldwide.

If you are positive, don't be silent.

Your courage and hope can become someone else's courage and hope too.

My hope is that both men and women will join together in a common effort. To get tested. To know their status. To delay sex or to have safe sex with a condom, always.

I don't know when a cure will come, but I have faith in humanity.

I believe that those of us who care, can create a tidal wave of hope.

If this film, for instance, can touch just a few thousand of you then maybe with your efforts, a few thousand more will be touched.

And soon enough, my tidal wave will come.

Do you know what will happen if we do not lead change?