'Sex & the City' Gets Serious About HIV and AIDS in South Africa - Kristin Davis...

'Sex & the City' Gets Serious About HIV and AIDS in South Africa - Kristin
Davis Helps Oxfam Break the Stigma and Close the Treatment Gaps Fuelling AIDS

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Kristin Davis, star of
US hit TV show Sex & the City, will join with Oxfam and leading AIDS activists
at a Johannesburg press conference tomorrow, Saturday, February 2, to support
community efforts in addressing the HIV and AIDS epidemic in South Africa.
(Photo: here
here )

Kristin, an Oxfam Global Ambassador, will share a platform with the
President of Oxfam America, Raymond C. Offenheiser, and leading South African
activists, to raise up the voices of the communities she has met, and to help
ensure that they are given the dignity of effective HIV treatment and care.
This is Kristin's second trip to South Africa, and she has used her time
to revisit the strong women and community groups that touched her in Soweto,
as well as learning more about how HIV is tackled in South Africa from new
groups in rural areas and informal settlements.
The trip has helped Kristin appreciate the power and importance of
community workers in South Africa's response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic, as
well as the obstacles that are preventing millions of people living with HIV
from getting the treatment they need, such as the lack of doctors, nurses and
treatment clinics, particularly in rural areas.
Kristin Davis, Oxfam Global Ambassador, says:
"I have been amazed by the incredible strength and energy of South
Africa's community groups in tackling the AIDS epidemic in this country.
People like Mama Grace, who runs a soup kitchen in Soweto for orphans and
other vulnerable children, are an incredible tower of strength in South
Africa's uphill response to AIDS. These unsung heroes are pulling together
what little food and money they have to provide care to those living with HIV.
Oxfam helps support them in this effort. These people are inspirational, but
can't win the battle on their own. These communities need nurses and doctors.
These wonderful people are holding up their communities and need our support."
The AIDS epidemic is the leading cause of death in South Africa, with an
estimated 400,000 people dying of HIV-related causes each year. To respond,
the country has mounted the biggest rollout of HIV treatment in the world,
which has seen over 300,000 people receiving anti-retrovirals on the public
health system. However, many barriers to good health for people living with
HIV remain. A shortage of doctors, nurses and clinics prevent people from
getting the treatment they need -- in one community Kristin visited the
nearest clinic was over 80km away, which meant people had to take a day off
work and pay $14 or more for a round trip on public transport to get the
treatment they so desperately required.
Oxfam's South African partners, the Treatment Action Campaign and the AIDS
Consortium will also both speak at the press conference.
Denise Hunt from the AIDS Consortium will raise the importance of tackling
stigma as a part of the HIV response saying that stigma prevents people,
particularly women, from coming forward for testing. She will call for extra
training for the community groups already providing care. With training, those
providing home-based care for men, women and children living with HIV could
play a larger role in rolling out treatment. She will call on the South
African government to empower and harness the skills of community health care
workers to help extend access to treatment to more people, more rapidly.
Oxfam recognizes the important role of community organizations and
continues to support innovative approaches to expanding access to treatment
and care for people living with HIV in South Africa, as well as campaigning on
the global level for more doctors, nurses, and community healthcare workers to
boost the level of care and treatment received by millions of people living
with HIV.
Raymond C. Offenheiser, President, Oxfam America, says:
"The AIDS epidemic does not respect race, class, gender or ethnicity. But
lives can be saved through unique partnerships that support access to
medicines, quality health services and empowered community leadership. Behind
the statistics lies a preventable human tragedy that can and must be
confronted."
Kristin Davis is on a four-day visit to South Africa from
January 29 -- February 2, 2008. Kristin's visit continues her efforts to gain
a better understanding of the HIV/AIDS situation in the country. Organizations
she met include Let Us Grow in Orange Farm, Circle of Promise in Soweto and a
HIV and AIDS project in Rustenburg, in the North West Province.
SOURCE Oxfam International

Charles Scott, 012 342 9245, or 079 8020952, or Nombuso Shabalala, 011 642
9283, or 082 903 3531, both for Oxfam International