Monday, December 1

Translators and World AIDS Day


As translators, World AIDS Day is an opportunity to be inspired to respect and protect the health and well being of ourselves and those around us through knowledge, action and consideration.

AIDS has killed more than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007, and an estimated 33 million people worldwide live with HIV as of 2007, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 2 million lives in 2007, of which about 270,000 were children. The concept of a World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. Since then, it has been taken up by governments, international organizations and charities around the world.

Besides observing this day as concerned global citizens, as interpreters and translators we should make it a point to familiarize ourselves with the specialized terminology of AIDS and HIV research. Whether you specialize in medical, legal, business, or scientific translation, AIDS affects all facets of our society and all people, regardless of culture and language. This is a global epidemic which requires the attention of all people and as linguistic liaisons we have the responsibility to ensure the dissemination of AIDS research in all languages.
In order to expand our knowledge of HIV/AIDS related terminology, the following are links to relevant multilingual resources:

Treat HIV Globally Multilingual Glossaries
European Multilingual Thesaurus on AIDS and HIV infection
UNAIDS: 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic

1 comment:

Chola Con Cello said...

Thanks for your wonderful and thoughtful posts. I will direct my health care interpreter students to your blog. I find it very useful.
Best,
María Elena Gaitán