World AIDS Day

While the month of December usually ushers in a time of celebration for many families across the globe, there are millions of people affected by an AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) diagnosis who are still waiting for the ultimate gift: a cure. For those people, and in the hope of stopping this deadly and incurable virus, we spread awareness. The first day of December every year since 1988 has been known as World AIDS Day, sparking conversations, plans, and actions within legislatures and communities around the world. The theme for 2009 is, “Universal Access and Human Rights.”

While searching for a cure, there are steps to be taken to curb the spread of AIDS, including establishing educational programs in schools and through outreach programs for those who do not have access to this important information. HIV is the name of the virus that causes AIDS. It becomes AIDS, the name of the disease, when your immune system has been defeated and your body is no longer able to fight it off. HIV is primarily contracted through unsafe (non-condom) sex practices, infected blood transfer through dirty needles, pregnancy from an infected mother to her child, or through infected breast milk. In the past, infection has also been occurred through unsafe or unknowing blood transfusions and interactions. Even though there is no cure for HIV and research is constantly being done to reverse that fact, there have been advancements in the treatment for HIV. Treatments are extensive and there may be side effects like with any medication, but people living with HIV can still have a completely active life unless AIDS develops.

According to the annual report from UNAIDS, over 25 million people have died from AIDS in the past 26 years, cementing it as a historic epidemic. Over 33 million people on Earth are living with HIV and while 2 million people died in 2008, over 2 million more people also contracted the disease last year—spinning a vicious circle. Almost half a million of the population living with HIV are children. If these numbers continue to replicate throughout the years, the children that we count on to be our future will also be bringing the disease with them, making it harder to eradicate without a cure.