At the end of Michaelmas term, Oxford University experienced the first annual (that we know of) Oxford World AIDS Week, a successful collaborative effort between the Oxford Student Stop AIDS Society, Oxford Global Health Group, People & Planet, Medsin Oxford, UNICEF, Amnesty International, U8, and Christian Aid, and OxHub.World AIDS Week made its official start on Sunday the 25th with a awareness-raising stunt in the center of town.  People dressed up as pills stood in a cage to represent the greed and apathy of certain governments and pharmaceutical companies to make antiretroviral HIV drugs affordable for people who need them.  People on the street stopped as they passed by the cage, and we talked to them about our campaign, encouraged them to sign action cards, and gave them information about the week to come.The next evening we hosted a discussion run by 2 DPhil (PhD) students, Mandisa Mbali and Priya Lall, about the AIDS work they’ve done and how it relates to international development specifically.  Mandisa’s research is about the history of AIDS activism in South Africa, and Priya focuses on women’s roles in the current Indian HIV epidemic.On Tuesday night, we organized a debate at the Oxford Union about the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants (as in, all those without legal status) to HIV treatment in the UK.  In 2004, the government changed its policy to exclude these groups from accessing free HIV treatment, even though they are still entitled to care for other STDs and health care services.  In the UK, which prides itself on a National Health Service that provides essentially free medical care to everyone, it is inconsistent (and against public health principles) to make certain individuals - especially those who are least able to afford treatment - pay for HIV care.  Three speakers from London - an HIV specialist from a large London hospital, someone from the Refugee Council (the UK’s largest NGO that works with refugees), and another from an organization called the African HIV Policy Netowrk which advocates for the rights of Africans living in the UK and has started a campaign on this very issue - formed the panel.  We had good attendance at the event and learned a lot from the speakers.  Working with them, we hope to launch an active lobbying campaign around this issue next term!  If anyone at other Stop AIDS chapters is interested in working with us on this, please get in touch with Alissa (alissa.caron@exeter.ox.ac.uk).Wednesday night was our big benefit concert.   Although we tried to solicit donations for our two charities at all of the events, our primary fundraiser was the benefit concert, so we made every effort to make it as successful as possible.  The East Oxford Community Centre served as a comfortable host for the evening.  We had a fair turnout, and all those who came enjoyed themselves.  Each of the acts was unique and fabulous - from solo signers to a bollywood dance group, to a 20-piece jazz band, the gumboots group, and a samba group that distributed earplugs before they started their set because they play so loudly!On Thursday, we screened “Pills, Profits, Protest,” a documentary about global treatment activism and had an open discussion about it afterwards.  Using the film as a jumping off point for reflection on what advocacy strategies have and have not worked in the past, we debated what the “best” way forward is.World AIDS Week closed on Friday with a memorial vigil - a fitting end to a long, thought-provoking week.  We had invited a worker from a local charity to talk about the HIV+ community in Oxford, as well as several individuals who have been personally affected by HIV have since dedicated their personal and professional life to HIV work in developing countries.  In their own time, several other people shared their stories, reflections from the week, and hopes for the future.In total, we raised about ₤250 at the events themselves but also are receiving donations from various college end-of-term events, which should bring the total to more than ₤500.  The donations will benefit two small AIDS charities.  Milana is a network based in Bangalore, India providing counseling, nutritional, educational and economic support and home-based care to people living with HIV and their families.  Vumani trains poor people living with HIV in Durban, South Africa to grow their own organic vegetables as part of a continuum of HIV treatment, care and support services.  Both charities were nominated by people in the World AIDS Week planning coalition for being very effective, grassroots groups for which any donation - large or small - would make a substantial impact.During the week, we also encouraged people to sign action cards to send to the Prime Minister and Ministers of Parliament  about the key national Stop AIDS Campaign issues: that the UK should distribute the funds (2.5 billion pounds) that it has already committed to spend on HIV/AIDS globally; that the UK should support developing countries who have taken their own initiative to produce generic, low-cost versions of drugs that are affordable for their own populations; and third that the government should do more to support health care system strengthening, without which better access to HIV treatment won’t have a positive effect.  We collected several hundred cards over the week and will deliver them to our MPs and to the Prime Minister in January.Thanks to all those who were involved in the week, & we hope to keep the student group collaborations around HIV/AIDS going throughout the year! 

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