Running for HIV/Aids prevention.

Firstly thanks for taking the time to visit Aluns fundraising page.

 Alun is donning his trainers after a year of practice and persistence as a runner. As a committed member of the Be One Percent network he is running in this years Liverpool Santa dash for a great charity supporting some of the worlds poorest.

What you can do! Sponsor Aluns run by donating 1% of your average monthly income. 1% is a small but significant commitment to big change that the 1%Network make every month. If you cant donate 1% of a months income, then donate whatever you can afford. The smallest donation could make the biggest difference. Thank You!

About Be One Percent Be One Percent is a network of individuals who commit to giving 1% if their income each month to help the worlds poorest. It’s an easy thing to be part of and the results are phenomenal. If your interested in becoming a regular member you can sign up at http://www.beonepercent.org.uk/donate We are always looking for new members to join our giving revolution!

About Concern Universal Concern Universal is an international development organisation tackling poverty from the grassroots.

They create opportunities for people around the world to improve their lives and shape their own futures. By building skills and connecting people at all levels in society, they help communities deliver practical solutions with long term impact. 

To mark World Aids day (Dec 1) the money raised will go to projects on the ground working to support HIV/Aids prevention among smallholder farmers is Ghana.

The project in detail: The BrongAhafo Region has an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 2.6%, higher than the national average of 1.6% and is ranked 4 on the national scale. The region recorded a total of 3,746 HIV/AIDS cases in 2008 with about 80% of the reported cases in the year contracted through sexual intercourse, highlighting the importance of sexual behaviour change in the efforts to contain the further spread of the disease in the region. For instance, of 2,597 people screened at the regional hospital in Sunyani in the same year, 406 of them tested HIV/AIDS positive representing 15% 375 out of 2,144 persons tested positive representing 17.5% at Berekum Hospital.

Given that the disease is most prevalent among the productive adult age group, this has far social and economic consequences for the affected persons and their families as well as communities as a whole. There is the increasing danger of worsening dependency ratios as more children are orphaned and the sick who were otherwise bread winners now become dependent on others for survival.  The rising incidence of the disease in some parts of the region is already increasing pressure on health facilities and personnel.

The key issues identified in the target districts include relatively high prevalence rates, low levels of awareness and knowledge of transmission, and management of the disease, high levels of stigma, unwillingness to undergo VCT and consequently low HIV testing rates and high risky sexual behaviour. A major driving force is high poverty and low literacy levels especially among women.

WHAT IS CONCERN UNIVERSAL DOING TO ADDRESS THIS?

Concern Universal has in June 2011 received a grant of US$699,940 from The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa to develop market access and post harvest services for smallholder farmers in BrongAhafo, Ghana. The project is working with maize farmers to improve access to markets by stimulating competitive Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs). The project is aiming to reduce postharvest losses and increase volumes and value of sales for 10,000 farmers. We have learnt through our projects implementation in Ghana that the scope for a single action to produce multiple or larger than anticipated impacts (i.e. a “butterfly effect‟) should not be underestimated. Thus, we want to ensure that when the farmers reach the market they are well equipped with quality information on HIV and AIDS prevention and management.

The existing farmer groups will serve as a platform for taking critical education on safe and healthy sexual behavior among the farmers (men and women) and ensure comprehensive understanding of HIV/AIDS among communities. The project will complement on-going actions of the Ministry of Health by encouraging them to go for voluntary counseling and testing on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2011.