Problem/Solution

PROBLEM

According to the UNAIDS/WHO, approximately 58 million individuals have been infected with HIV over the past 26 years. 25 million have already died. In Africa, 12 million children have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS and this figure is projected to increase to 25 million by 2010.
Women represent 50% of all adults living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and 61% of those living in sub-Saharan Africa.  In the United States, African American women represent over 75% of women living with HIV, with Hispanic women also disproportionately infected. Young people 15-24 years of age account for 50% of all new HIV infections worldwide. They are either ignorant of the modes of HIV transmission, or in the case of many girls, unable to choose when and with whom they will have sex. Stigma and societal/cultural barriers continue to fan the flames of denial with regards to prevention and treatment strategies.
In developing countries, over 7 million individuals are in immediate need of treatment with antiretroviral therapy, but only 2 million are currently receiving the medications. In the United States, adherence to antiretroviral therapy is not optimal, leading to resistance and the need for more complicated regimens to suppress the HIV virus.

SOLUTION

Global Lifeworks was birthed out of the relationship between an HIV/AIDS physician and her patient. Together, they explored the unique ways to address the lack of education and awareness of HIV/AIDS by disseminating accurate information regarding transmission and prevention, while meeting the medical and psychosocial needs of the HIV/AIDS community.
Additionally, they addressed the stigma and assumptions inherent in the HIV/AIDS pandemic by offering a transformational workshop called Discovery which assists individuals in examining the belief systems that influence their assumptions about who is infected and how they are treated.
Global Lifeworks believes that the solution to the HIV/AIDS pandemic is already available. This is a disease that is 100% preventable and treatable, though not curable. By integrating all of our available resources medically, psychosocially, spiritually, and economically, we can provide education regarding transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS while working together to enhance the health and wellness of both the HIV positive individual and their community.