Introduction

　　The theme for World AIDS Day 2007 and 2008 is leadership. This theme will continue to be promoted within the campaigning slogan of Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.

Why the theme of leadership?

　　Since the beginning of the epidemic, experience has clearly demonstrated that significant advances in the response to HIV have been achieved when there is strong and committed leadership. Leaders are distinguished by their action, innovation and vision; their personal example and engagement of others; and their perseverance in the face of obstacles and challenges. However, leaders are often not those in the highest offices. Leadership must be demonstrated at every level to get ahead of the disease - in families, in communities, in countries and internationally. Much of the best leadership on AIDS has been demonstrated within civil society organisations challenging the status quo. Making leadership the theme of the next two World AIDS Days will help encourage leadership on AIDS within all levels and sectors of society. We hope it will inspire and foster champions within a range of different groups and networks at local and international levels.

　　Despite the efforts to hold leaders accountable in 2006, progress in halting HIV is falling far short of targets. Over 25 million people have died of AIDS so far, and 4.3 million people were infected with HIV in 2006. The spread of HIV is accelerating with more people infected in 2006 than in any previous year. This is despite the number of promises by world leaders to provide services to curb the rates of infection and to bring down death rates. The G8 leaders must deliver on their commitments to AIDS. In other high level meetings, governments of rich countries promised to increase the spending on development aid to 0.7 percent of their annual budget. Only a handful of countries have done so. In the Abuja Declaration, African leaders committed to allocating 15 percent of their budgets to health. This has happened in just one or two countries, with only one-third of African countries spending over 10 percent. Promises are not being kept because there is a lack of leadership at every level.

Using the theme

　　As with past World AIDS Day themes, leadership has been chosen as a loose global campaigning concept. Local campaign themes and World AIDS Day messages are best shaped at national and community levels, where campaigning organisations can tailor the theme towards their specific needs or constituency. Where possible, campaigners are encouraged to link local messages to the leadership theme, particularly around World AIDS Day. This helps maximise national, regional and international visibility of global campaigning efforts on AIDS. Also where possible, we encourage the use of the slogan Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise. in the accompanying language of World AIDS Day materials.

　　The principle behind all the work of the World AIDS Campaign is that local messages should underpin all global campaigning efforts. The theme of leadership is offered as a vehicle for uniting efforts within a common global message. World AIDS Campaign themes have a number of campaigning functions, including :

• helping to generate media coverage for AIDS and World AIDS Day.
• providing organisations who have limited resources access to meaningful campaigning materials.
• enhancing solidarity within the global response to AIDS through working through an united effort.
• galvanising action both nationally and internationally in a way that other smaller scale efforts cannot by representing a global AIDS campaigning message.

　　In any situation where the global campaigning theme is seen as diminishing the autonomy of local campaigning voices or detracting from local impacts, then it should not be used. The global theme is only a loose organising principle that should compliment existing or emerging campaigning efforts.

　　One advantage of using the theme, particularly around World AIDS Day, is that it can offer a universally recognised vehicle for promoting a wide range of AIDS issues. The media, governments, local businesses, and a range of institutions locally and globally embrace World AIDS Day, and the annual theme that accompanies it, as an opportunity to demonstrate commitment and action on AIDS. Campaigns could be politically orientated towards government, for example, “Leadership on treatment now: we are still dying. Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.” Or they could be designed to mobilise a certain sector within a common cause, for example “Textile workers, lead the fight against AIDS in your workplace. “ The theme of leadership is designed to be as flexible as possible to accommodate a range of campaigning needs.