WAG - Remember
Today is World AIDS Day.
This yearly day of remembrance was started in 1988 with the theme "The World United Against AIDS." Women are 2.5 times more likely to be infected with HIV as compared to their male counterparts and currently make up over 50 percent of the HIV infected population which is why this year's theme is "Women, girls, HIV and AIDS."
Many people will be wearing symbolic ribbons today - and that is good for them - but I think the best thing to do is something even more meaningful and that is taking the time to educate myself more on the subject of AIDS and HIV.
Some of these things I already knew, some are new facts to learn, but these are all things to keep in mind:
According to the World AIDS Day site, roughly 4.8 million people acquired HIV in 2003, raising the overall count to approximately 37.8 million people living with HIV and AIDS globally.
It is estimated that there have been 57.8 million total HIV cases to date.
HIV kills 8,000 people every day. Every minute, 5 people die of AIDS.
It is estimated that 20 million people have died from AIDS to date.
HIV is NOT transmitted by casual physical contact, coughing, sneezing and kissing, by sharing toilet and washing facilities, by using eating utensils or consuming food and beverages handled by someone who has HIV; it is not spread by mosquitoes or other insect bites.
The four ways you CAN contract HIV are...
* unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected partner (the most common);
* sharing needles or other contaminated injection or skin-piercing equipment;
* blood and blood products through, for example, infected transfusions and organ or tissue transplants;
* transmission from infected mother to child in the womb or at birth and breastfeeding.
The science of helping those with HIV or AIDS has come a long way, but there is a lot left to do. Keep these thoughts with you today and throughout the year and that will help remind us to do more to make the world a better place.
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