World AIDS Day--'Universal Access & Human Rights'

“According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.4 million people living with HIV, including 2.1 million children… Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35” (www.worldaids.gov)

Today is World AIDS Day and it is still our duty to raise awareness, fight for a cure, continue to practice safer sex and educate our youth.

The AIDS epidemic, first recognized in 1981, has gone through several stages; we have been through the lowest lows of treating people as total outcasts to the more civilized and humane stage of allowing the infected to live without (open) discrimination.

For me, today is a day of reflection. A day to remember those in my life who have been touched by a disease that didn’t have to take the lives of so many--and dare I say, a disease that didn’t have to be here at all. It is important that we continue to remind people that HIV/AIDS has not gone away. There is more support, there are better treatments and those who become infected are living longer, but it is important to know that this is real. We are no longer living in the ‘casual’ times of our parents where one could ‘hook up’ and the worse they’d have to worry about was either pregnancy or an STD that could be cured with one doctor’s visit. It is our ignorance and unwillingness to see ‘the signs of the times’ that will inevitably hold us back. The world is full of ‘distractions’, don’t allow yourself to be blinded from important issues. The only way that our numbers will be reduced is if we start paying more attention, using preventative measures and taking our options seriously.

I have a lot of opinions on this topic (as I’m sure most of you do) and can go on & on for pages, but for the sake of brevity I will conclude with this:

-Parents:  Don’t allow your thoughts about sex before marriage take away that priceless conversation that should be had with every young person about protecting themselves and the dangers that await a misinformed individual. If your children are ready to have sex, they will do so with or without your permission or guidance. You can guide them through the pros & cons or turn a blind eye-the choice is yours.     

-Young People:  Don’t allow the scary thoughts of having the ‘sex talk’ with your parents stop you from confronting them with your concerns. Even if you feel as if your parents aren’t easy to talk to, there is someone that can help you to approach your decision in the proper way. Talk to an older family member whose advice you trust or better yet, visit your school nurse or family doctor. You’re destiny is in your hands. Your parents not being open-minded isn’t a reason not to protect yourself (whether it be with information or with condoms)—Take responsibility for your own health.

*All: Be aware. Be compassionate. Be proactive and most important-Be Real. Don’t allow certain status quos to make you believe that you are so special that you are exempt from this illness. No one is. AIDS may indeed be more prevalent within the lower and middle class neighborhoods, but unlike the entity that brought this disease to us, the actual disease does NOT discriminate against race, social or economic stance. This is a human disease and is therefore a human concern.

Provide help where you can and spread hope.

What can we do to help?

Here are a few examples:

1.         Know your status! Locate HIV testing facilities. If you, or a friend, don’t know your statuses then go and get tested—together. Go to http://www.aids.gov/ to find an HIV testing center near you.

2.         You can raise awareness by choosing AIDS as a topic for your next school presentation & distribute condoms & reading materials at the end (with the permission of your teacher/professor).

3.         Talk to your family (especially the teenagers) about AIDS, its affect on the world and what they need to do to be safe. There are plenty of downloads which can be shared with friends & family.

4.         Raise money by hosting/participating in an event that will raise funds for the cure: You could host/participate in a poetry night or sponsor a walk dedicated to finding the cure.

5.         Share info on Twitter about how you’re taking action!

6.         Write a Blog or post a comment on one about World Aids Day & how this epidemic has affected your outlook on things.

7.         Be an element of change.Share knowledge.Take Responsibility.Express love.Show support.

“Every hour, two young Americans between ages 13 and 24 are infected with HIV. Every 16 seconds a woman is infected with HIV. Every 29 seconds a woman dies from AIDS-related illness…We have been silent for too long and silence will not protect us. Silence is killing us quicker than the disease.” -Sheryl Lee Ralph