A few hours before leaving Germany I'd like to introduce myself to The Comrads and all the people following my blog over the next 4 weeks: My name is Sophie Hirsch. I am a medical student from Tuebingen / Germany and I am going to go to South Africa as a Comrads-Fellow. In South Africa I will stay with SANTA Mpumalanga and two different HBCs (home based care centres) which are supported by SANTA. As a medic I am interested in diseases, medicine and care, of course. I would like to learn more about NGOs: What do they do? How do they work? What are their everyday problems? But I also hope to learn more about South Africa, its people and its culture. I hope that SANTA and The Comrads (me!) will be able to exchange knowledge and that both sides will learn a lot. After initial issues, I am finally ready to leave! My packing is already done, accommodation is booked and - thanks to the Internet - I've even checked in. Yesterday I bought a guide and one of my friends gave me an English dictionary. So nothing can go wrong! I'd like to invite you to read my blog and to enjoy my journey!

A project, called the Vienna Declaration, is being launched to coincide with the XVIII International AIDS Conference to be held in Vienna, Austria, July 18th to 23rd and is the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS Conference.

The Vienna Declaration is a scientific statement stressing that conventional illicit drug policies have failed to achieve their intended objectives and that evidence-based public health approaches are urgently needed.

For more information visit their website at www.viennadeclaration.com