|PIC1|Around the world, communities and even some governments are turning increasingly to Mothers' Unions to care for HIV and Aids sufferers and provide the grassroots education and awareness training on the virus that can halt its spread and break down stigma.

HIV and Aids can have a debilitating effect on sufferers and their families, financially because they are unable to work, and spiritually because they are often the victims of stigma within their local communities or families.

World Aids Day is being marked around the world on Saturday by those affected directly by the virus as well as those campaigning for the international community to step up its efforts to halt its spread.

In regions severely affected by HIV and Aids, Mothers' Unions are running training events to raise awareness of the disease and the measures that can be taken to ensure its prevention. They are also working hard on anti-prejudice programmes.

Through their own health clinics, Mothers' Unions are also offering the practical healthcare that HIV and Aids sufferers need to stay in the best health possible, by offering low-cost medicines and homecare advice.

Nora is one of 30 HIV-positive women, all refugees or asylum seekers from sub-Saharan Africa, living in Doncaster and supported by Mothers' Union and local charity Pathways.

When her husband was killed, Nora fled Uganda in 2002 but became extremely ill with HIV by the time of her arrival in the UK. She has recovered from the worst of her illness but still faces some physical problems.

Mothers' Union members in Doncaster were horrified by the "shocking poverty" that these women were living in and came together to improve their quality of living throughout the Doncaster area by providing housing and vouchers for food, as well as £10 a week for other essential items. They also provided the women, some with families, with good quality second-hand clothes, toiletries and household goods.

Nora praised the Mothers' Union for its care of the women in Doncaster, "I have felt nothing but real acceptance and warmth from Mothers' Union. It is a tribute to members I meet that I'm never afraid to say I am HIV positive."

Mothers' Unions are operating in 78 countries around the world, caring for families affected by HIV and Aids as well as developing sustainable agriculture, income generation projects and providing orphan care.

In 2007 alone, Mothers' Union has funded HIV and Aids work in Antigua, Ghana, Burundi, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Uganda.