Every year, I feel it is my duty to speak about something that I spend the rest of the year working hard to prevent; the transmission of HIV. Today, I want to reflect on some of the facts about HIV/AIDS, and suggest some of my thoughts about what is wrong with our current actions concerning HIV/AIDS, and suggest ways in which we can do more good, and hopefully, eradicate this epidemic once and for all. If something I say can save one person from having to deal with this disease, then that is my mission; it is why I got into public health in the first place.
Since 1981, which is heralded as the beginning of the HIV epidemic, AIDS has killed an estimated 25 million people worldwide. Today, we are more than 25 years into this epidemic, and the rate of transmission of HIV shows no sign of slowing. The main way we can stop the spread of HIV, is to make sure that everyone is protecting themselves, and continue to provide testing and treatment to everyone. We must step up our mission of prevention, by destigmatizing the acts through which transmission occurs, and not be afraid to talk with our children about sex. We must no longer be afraid to encourage everyone to understand that the usage of a condom can mean the difference between a long healthy life; or a life dealing with a devastating disease. We must change the way we prevent HIV transmission, both in this country and world wide, and luckily, it starts with us. We must take charge, and make sure that our voices are heard; the prevention of HIV cannot be subjected social stigmas and ideological barricades – it is time we get over that already. It is time we focus on the truth; HIV can be prevented, but it will never be prevented by abstinence alone. Condoms are not the enemy, sex is not the enemy; HIV is the enemy, and we must make sure this focus is both understood, and embraced by everyone. We must encourage everyone, including our nation’s youth, to protect themselves, get tested, and seek treatment if necessary. Ignoring this epidemic will only strengthen its hold on our society. We cannot afford to ignore it any longer.
(Since this is going to be a long entry, I am going to put the rest after the jump… make sure you come see it; I will be discussing how I feel about HIV/AIDS testing and treatment, two things that both excite and disgust me at the same time.)
Prevention, while paramount and crucial to stopping the spread of this epidemic, is not the only force that must be focused in a way that will reach as many as possible. Recommendations for testing, which are a part of prevention, need to include follow up guidelines and real options for when that test comes back positive. We can no longer simply encourage people to get tested; we have to be realistic – testing is not going to prevent you from becoming infected. I want us to focus our efforts into providing more testing, coupled with actual strategies for reaching people that are at risk, and providing them with real options to prevent infection. Additionally, for those that test positive, there MUST be a system that provides them with the proper treatment, guidance, and support, so that they are not pushed aside and left to suffer, as so many all over the world are currently experiencing. We must provide for both those that are disease free, and provide for those that are not; suffering from this disease in this day and age is both unacceptable, and despicable.
In addition to what I have stated above about prevention and follow up strategies and methods for helping people stay negative, and providing for those that test positive, it is PARAMOUNT that drug companies end there reign of wealth and power that is doing nothing but killing millions of people. Until those that are diagnosed with and living with AIDS are cared for, this epidemic will only continue to claim more and more lives, and leave more and more people sick, dying, and alone.
According to the World Health Organization, here are the facts about AIDS from 2006:
According to the latest figures published today in the UNAIDS/WHO 2006 AIDS Epidemic Update, an estimated 39.5 million people are living with HIV. There were 4.3 million new infections in 2006 with 2.8 million (65%) of these occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and important increases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where there are some indications that infection rates have risen by more than 50% since 2004. In 2006, 2.9 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses.
As you can see, over half of the infections are occurring in regions of extreme poverty, and the prices of AIDS drugs have been too high for too long. This must stop. You don’t have to go to sub-Saharan Africa to find someone that is too poor to afford treatment for AIDS; there are people right here in Atlanta that cannot afford to have these life prolonging drugs. This is all a result of greed, power, and political influence, and it is honestly disgusting and shameful. We must force these companies to lower the prices of these drugs, and we, as a country, the MOST POWERFUL and WEALTHY country in the world, we must provide access to these drugs and treatments all over the world; including our doorsteps. No one should die because they cannot afford these drugs; enough profit has been made off of these infections and deaths, and now it is time to stop. It is time to focus less on filling the pockets of the already many times over millionaires and wealthy politicians, and take care of our fellow human beings; humanity is crying out for our help, and we are doing a piss poor job of giving it to them. We can do better. We have to do better. I hope we can. I would like to believe that there is something better in the world that can help these people; and before it is said that we already give, you must remember that no matter what we have given, we have to give more. Not because we have to, but because we can. And, because we should.
I urge all of us to step back and think about these things today; prevention, testing, treatment, life, humanity, greed, politics, and death. HIV/AIDS is a killer. It has been for a quarter of a century. And it takes more lives every second. It infects more people every second. But that can change. It has to change. But there have to be some changes made, and the only way that can happen, is if we speak louder, fight harder, and give more. By doing this, we honor those that have lost their lives so far, as well as those that suffer with this disease today, anything less would just be shaming them. AIDS can end with us. We can stop this disease, and I know we can do it with what I have suggested. I hope that someone, anyone, is listening, and the journey down the right path can begin.
Thanks for listening. Get tested. Protect yourself. Always.
(image from the WHO website)
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