Man, the Child of Woman

Women are vital creatures for the sustainability of humanity on earth. Women’s role in any society is internal as well as external. They have a diverse ability of leading a community from the backseat as well as the front seat.

Women make up the constituency of the mother, the wife, the daughter and the sister without whom society cannot exist. Women themselves can flourish through the E³ Factor. So what is this?

The E³ Factor is made up of:

·         Education

·         Engagement

·         Empowerment

Education

Education is the source of knowledge which shapes the future of any nation on earth. A famous Arab proverb states, “Mother is an institution. If you invest in her, you invest in the whole nation.” Mother is the first and only sustainable educational institution in any country around the world.

Engagement

The physical and intellectual ability of the individual to lead is a result of their engagement in society. We cannot afford to not engage in our society and expect to succeed. If we consider man to be the child of a woman, we must engage the woman in society to enable her to produce the best leadership of a nation whether the child becomes a man or woman. Engagement is a proven, not a political decision. Engagement is a culture and a common shared value.

Empowerment

Once woman becomes engaged in society, she’ll be confidently empowered to take the lead not only in her chosen job, but in society. The parameters of the success of this “E Factor” process are the value, culture, and faith of the society that we represent. While we educate, engage, and empower everyone in society we should maintain respect and develop our cultural faith-based values to create a civilisation that carries our fingerprints and our identity.

By Dr Hany El Banna (Chairman, International HIV Fund)
As ever feel free to leave your comments and let us know you think! :)

The Alan Sugar Formula

A social problem is a problem that affects individuals of a society, irrespective of age, gender, and race. Social problems can be medical, educational, political, economic, religious and much much more. Quite often ineffective social leaders file these problems away without discussing the issue at hand. They think a disease will be cured without treatment, the economy will grow without progression, the nation will be literate without education, or that the country can defend itself without an army.

If every disease has a cure and every problem has a solution, social problems will not be present. However, not every leader has the courage to use the correct treatment or implement the most effective solution. In the case of HIV, it is not only a problem but a pandemic that has infiltrated the very fabric of our social infrastructure, globally, in every community.

What have we learnt from the recent series of The Apprentice?

We have learnt the necessity to be like Alan Sugar, constantly firing the ‘apprentice’ every week for the inability to respond positively to the needs of the community.

Let us tackle the root causes of such a pandemic and plan for the coming 20 years to eradicate HIV by using the Alan Sugar Apprentice Formula. We might even be able to eradicate it earlier than our planned deadline. We should be sweet, sour, and firm in tackling social problems. Rather than filing them away we should be firing them.

A Reality for The Coming Months

Despite the gravity of the issue, HIV and AIDS remains very much in the shadows in terms of an effective global response. Since the virus was formally identified in the 1980s we have witnessed the deaths of over 25 million people across the globe.

Here are a few stark realities of what 2011 holds*:

• Around 2 million people will die this year from HIV and AIDS.
  
  
• There will be an estimated 2.6 million adults and children newly infected with HIV. Of this, an estimated 1200 children will become newly infected each day.
  
  
• More than 2 million children will already be living with HIV and AIDS. Most of the children live in sub-Saharan Africa and were infected by their HIV-positive mothers during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. Although mother-to-child-transmission is avoidable, access to preventive interventions is still low in most developing countries.
  
  
• Just over 5 million HIV-positive people have access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in low- and middle-income countries, however, global coverage of this treatment will remain low. There are over 33 million sufferers worldwide, 14,600,00 of whom (in addition to the 5 million) are in need of ART. ART is not a cure – there is currently no cure – but it suppresses the HIV virus.
  
  *Statistics taken from the World Health Organisation and UNAIDS
  

It is clear to see from the above that more commitment, collaboration, and effort are needed on the part of national governments, development agencies, faith leaders and grassroots activists. One body cannot bring everything to the table but everyone can contribute something.


 
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