Richael
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After scouring the internet for a while, I have found plenty of websites addressing World AIDS Day. There's the CDC, HHS, World Aids Campaign, UNAIDS, Avert (who made this fantastic video that I posted a month ago). Yet, after all of this scouring, I still have difficulty figuring out exactly what action needs to be taken to address the growing AIDS epidemic. All of these organizations seem pretty content to sit around and pat themselves on the back for all of the headway that they've made about AIDS, yet they are not addressing the challenges that we still face and the action that needs to be taken to meet these challenges (with the exception of Avert and their wonderful video).
It is entirely true that these organizations have made fantastic progress against HIV/AIDS; without all of the funding, research, and hours that have been poured into HIV/AIDS programs, the potential scale of the epidemic today would be incomprehensible. However, the purpose of World AIDS Day is to remind everyone that the fight has not been won just yet.
According to UNAIDS, 33.3 million people are now living positively, and 2.5 million of these people are children. In 2009, there were 2.6 million new infections and 1.8 million died after their battle with AIDS.
There are 5 million youth worldwide between the ages of 15 and 24 who are living positively.
AIDS is the second most common cause of death for youth between the ages of 20-24 worldwide.
45% of new HIV infections each year worldwide occur among young people.
95% of new infections occur in the least developed countries.
Only 34% of young people have comprehensive knowledge of HIV worldwide.
UNAIDS found that in 2010 prevention programs fail to pay attention to the special needs of young people who use drugs, engage in sex work, or men having sex with men.
In Zambia, condom use among young people decreased in 2010.
The fight is not over.
**On Thursday and Friday I will post blogs about specific actions that need to be taken to decrease the prevalence of HIV among young people and the need for universal access to ARVs.
