Legendary Olympic diver and gold medalist Greg Louganis is bringing the global challenge of living with HIV to light. Teaming with the United Nations agency, the International Labour Organization (ILO) he introduces a series of video messages portraying discrimination and even deportation of HIV positive adults.
Released today, World AIDS Day, the videos promote the need for voluntary testing and treatment of HIV. Louganis, who has been living with HIV for 26 years, credits testing and early treatment with the fact that HIV “has not affected my zest for life, or my passion for sports.”
ILO Director-General Guy Ryder for World AIDS Day 2014, released a statement saying that HIV-related discrimination, gender based violence and gender inequality are still the major obstacles to getting testing and HIV services to those who need it. “As of 2013,” he said “19 million out of an estimated 35 million people living with HIV worldwide – more than half – were unaware of their HIV status. Many of those affected are not able to tell their own stories and often face stigma and discrimination at work and in their everyday lives.”
In addition to releasing his own video statement, Louganis introduces three stories of men and women in Zimbabwe, India and Jordan who are currently living with HIV. Actors Kavi Ladnier, Ratidzo Mambo and Junes Zahdi read these compelling testimonials.
The ILO will show the testimonials at an international gathering in Geneva today. They have been translated into other languages and will be released globally.
The first international observance of World Aids Day was on December 1st, 1988. This year’s theme is Getting to Zero. Louganis closes his message with his personal goal: “Zero discrimination, zero new infections, and zero aids related deaths”.
