Last night we had our final event on the Tour! It’s been a long but incredible and inspiring journey around the UK, thanks to all of you who hosted us and made it happen. I hope you all got something out of it, whether it was a bit of inspiration, a new member or two, or an insight into HIV and what it really means.

But we must not dwell on the past, there are too many exciting things to focus on, whether it’s a potential trip to Brussels at the end of March (watch this space!) or, most importantly, the DAY OF ACTION on Tuesday 12th March.

The national day of action is a great way for student stop AIDS Campaigners from across the UK to come together and make impact upon the campaigns.  Last year everything was kicked off at GlaxoSmithKline HQ where chanting and loaded with clocks we told them it was TIME that they joined the Patent Pool.  We then went to the streets and collected hundreds of action cards, followed by a mass lobby on parliament.  This year our action cards are asking the UK government to ensure that 15 million people are on treatment by 2015.

There are 3 important things you can do today to make sure it’s a huge success

 1.       Email or write to your MP now and invite them to come and meet you on the day!

Dear XXX MP,

I am a committed campaigner for the Stop AIDS Campaign at XXX University/Town. This is a student network across the UK which aims to bring about changes to national and international policy related to HIV and AIDS through informing, campaigning and lobbying

On Tuesday 12th March I will be travelling to London together with over 100 other students from across the UK to take part in a national day of action to campaign for improved access to life saving HIV medicines and increased funding for the AIDS response.

One issue I am deeply passionate about is the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. The Global Fund is the main multilateral funder in global health. It channels two-thirds of the international financing provided to fight TB and malaria, and a fifth of the international financing against AIDS. It also funds health systems strengthening, as inadequate health systems are one of the main obstacles to scaling up interventions to secure better health outcomes for HIV, TB and malaria.

This is a crucial year for the Global Fund as it works towards an effective replenishment in September 2013. In order for world leaders to live up to their commitments of getting 15 million people on treatment by 2015, it is essential that we see a fully funded Global Fund.

I would be grateful if you had the time to meet with me to discuss these issues in the House of Commons after 3pm on Tuesday 12th March.

I look forward to hearing your response,

Yours Sincerely

XXXX your name

XXXX your address and postcode

(Don’t know your MP? – Find their contact details at http://www.theyworkforyou.com/. If you don’t hear back, why not follow up with a call?)

 

  1. Get at least 5 others to come with you! Email those who came to your Tour event and sign people up on our Facebook event and get as many people involved – they won’t forget their experience. Let us know by 5th March with who you have coming and when you’ll be coming.
  2. Book your travel! We will be able to reimburse some of your travel costs – at least £20 but maybe more. So book it now while travel is cheap. Actions will start early in the morning and pubbage will finish in the evening, so book it as early and late as you can! You can join at any point during the day, so don’t worry if 7am just isn’t possible!

Send an email to alice@restlessdevelopment.org with

Name of Students coming:

Arrival Time:

Leaving time:

MP name and time of appointment:

 By March 5th at the latest