UNAIDS has launched the first phase of the new editions of its global web site in French, Spanish and Russian. For the first time parts of the web site are now available in each of the 4 official languages of the organization.

In a transparent process UNAIDS will continue to translate more of the content so where the Russian, Spanish and French versions are not yet available, the default language will be English. By later this year our aim is that 95% of the global web site will be in all four official languages.

We hope this step will enable us to reach a much wider audience across the globe giving many more internet users access to the data on the AIDS epidemic, key resources and the latest HIV news.

Increasing numbers of people have access to online communication technologies and can participate in vital information exchange. However a digital divide remains and UNAIDS recognizes that access inequality also includes a linguistic inequality as many policy, technical and scientific resources on the web are currently only available in English.

“Language is a critical tool for communication and fundamental to knowledge access,” said Chief of Communications and Knowledge Sharing, Annemarie Hou.

“By making our resources available in languages other than English we hope to reach across cultural and linguistic differences helping UNAIDS to deliver on its goal of supporting an expanded response to AIDS.”

The transmission of HIV is not limited by any social, cultural or linguistic boundary and as UNAIDS' response to HIV must reflect the diversity of the epidemic, our communication tools must also mirror the plurality that exists globally. The launch of our global web site in multiple languages is a further step in that direction, ensuring broader dissemination of our information tools and resources.

As a part of this strategy UNAIDS has partnered with the Faculty of Translation and Documentation of the University of Salamanca in Spain, to design new ways of developing communication on AIDS in Spanish.

The Spanish web content has been translated by the University students and this process, in addition to providing UNAIDS with high-quality translations, offers the opportunity to students to contribute to the work of the United Nations and gain increased awareness on AIDS issues at the same time.

UNAIDS looks forward to continuing this partnership with the University which also involves a terminology research project.

“Words may have different meanings in specific situations so it is very important to put them in context. We also need to make sure that the ideas behind terms and the meaning relations between them are clearly understandable by all the Spanish speakers worldwide,” said Vice Dean of the Faculty of Translation and Documentation, University of Salamanca, Dr Jesús Torres del Rey who coordinates the partnership project.

2008 International Year of Languages

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2008 to be the International Year of Languages and has recognized that the United Nations should pursue multilingualism as a means of promoting, protecting and preserving diversity of languages and cultures globally and emphasized the paramount importance of the equality of the Organization’s official languages.

French

French is spoken by about 350 million people around the world as either a native or a second language, with significant populations in 54 countries. A majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa where an estimated 115 million African people across 31 countries, can speak French either as a first or second language.

Spanish

Spanish is used by 370 million people across the globe and is the third most spoken language worldwide. In addition to Spain, Spanish is the official language of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In addition, it is widely spoken in Canada, Morocco, the Philippines, and the United States.

Russian

Russian is spoken as a first language by an estimated 167 million people and by an estimated 270 million in total. It is the official language of the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It is spoken in 31 countries around the world including many of the former Soviet republics.

Please visit the global web sites in the following languages:

UNAIDS French-language global website at www.unaids.org/fr

UNAIDS Spanish-language global website at www.unaids.org/es

UNAIDS Russian-language global website at www.unaids.org/ru

We very much welcome your feedback. You can contact us with your ideas and suggestions by email: webmaster@unaids.org

Reaffirming their commitment to the elimination of female genital mutilation, 10 United Nations bodies including UNAIDS, have expressed their commitment to support governments, communities, and women and girls to abandon the practice within a generation.

There are a growing number of examples in countries around the world where the prevalence of female genital mutilation has declined. The interagency statement “Eliminating female genital mutilation” is a joint initiative to support the scaling up of good examples to become common practice.

Female genital mutilation, also called female genital cutting and female genital mutilation/cutting, violates the rights of women and girls to health, protection and even life as the procedure sometimes results in death. Although decades of work by local communities, government, and national and international organizations have contributed to reducing the prevalence of female genital mutilation in many areas, the practice remains widespread.

Damages public health and human rights

Between 100 and 140 million women and girls in the world are estimated to have undergone female genital mutilation and 3 million girls are estimated to be at risk of undergoing the procedures every year.

The statement points out that female genital mutilation is a manifestation of unequal relations between women and men with roots in deeply entrenched social, economic and political conventions.

The practice is believed to enhance a girl’s chastity and chances of marriage by controlling her sexuality. As such, it not only infringes on women’s sexual and reproductive health; it also perpetuates gender roles detrimental to women.

"We recognize that traditions are often stronger than law, and legal action by itself is not enough,” said all the agencies involved. “Change must also come from within. This is why it is critical for us to join hands and work closely with communities and their leaders so that they can bring about sustainable social change.”

Health complications of female genital mutilation

The statement highlights the damaging effect of female genital mutilation on the health of women, girls and newborn babies. Immediate risks of the practice include severe pain, shock and even death through hemorrhaging. The use of the same surgical instrument without sterilization could increase the risk for transmission of HIV between girls who undergo female genital mutilation together.

Long-term health risks include chronic pain, reproductive tract infections, birth complications and psychological consequences. An increased risk for bleeding during intercourse may increase the risk for HIV transmission. The increased prevalence of herpes in women subjected to female genital mutilation may also increase the risk for HIV infection, as genital herpes is a risk factor in the transmission of HIV.

The UN said, “We are becoming increasingly concerned about the medicalisation of female genital mutilation. This is where the mutilation is performed by health professionals in health facilities. The argument that a mild form performed by medically trained personnel is safer is commonly heard in countries where female genital mutilation is practiced. But this should never be considered as an option."

The statement argues that the treatment and care of the adverse health consequences of female genital mutilation should be an integral part of health services, such as safe motherhood and child survival programmes, sexual health counselling, psycho-social counselling, prevention and treatment of reproductive tract infections and sexually transmitted infections including HIV and AIDS, prevention and management of gender-based violence, youth health programmes and programmes targeting traditional birth attendants (who may also be traditional circumcisers).

New evidence and lessons learned

The interagency statement is based on new evidence and lessons learnt over the past decade. It highlights the wide recognition of the human rights and legal dimensions of the problem and provides current data on the prevalence of female genital mutilation.

It summarizes findings from research on the reasons why the practice continues, highlighting that the practice is a social convention which can only be changed through coordinated collective action by practising communities. It also summarizes recent research on its damaging effects on the health of women, girls and newborn babies.

Drawing on experience from interventions in many countries, the new statement describes the elements needed, for both working towards complete abandonment of female genital mutilation, and caring for those who have suffered, and continue to suffer, from its consequences.

The Interagency Statement on Eliminating Female genital mutilation was signed by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHCHR), The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UNICEF, the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Significant progress towards reducing child and maternal mortality is being made but to meet the Millennium Development Goals 4,5,6, strategies aimed at reaching the world’s most inaccessible, marginalized and vulnerable populations will be required, health leaders said today.

It is with profound sadness that UNAIDS mourns the death of staff member Mr Sam Were who recently passed away in Kampala, Uganda. Sam lived openly with HIV and served as a role model by declaring his HIV-positive status at a time when few people living with HIV were willing to disclose.

UNAIDS today acknowledges the life and legacy of Dr Jonathan Mann, a formative force in the fields of HIV, health and human rights. Dr Mann and his wife, AIDS researcher Mary-Lou Clements-Mann were on their way to Geneva when their plane crashed off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada on 2 September 1998.