Today is December 1, 2004. This is World AIDS Day, the annual day of international action on and awareness of HIV and AIDS. Read about it here, then see what you can do in your community.
Despite all the advances in fighting HIV and AIDS, today people are still contracting these diseases needlessly and a cure has yet to be found. Whereas women at one time made up just a small fraction of new cases, they now represent nearly half of the identified cases. More education is needed. More research is needed. More funding is needed. More and cheaper medicine is needed. More compassion and commitment are needed.
Footnote: Does anyone else remember Day Without Art? I haven't heard anything about that since about 2000. I always thought that was a pretty cool idea, coupled with World AIDS Day, especially since so many of our great artists have been lost to HIV and AIDS, including my friend David Jamieson. Oh! I found a picture of one of his works online here. It's not as powerful a piece as the one of which I have a print, but it's quite beautiful all the same. When I think about all the talented people who have died from this disease ... it makes my heart hurt.
Posted by cynical at December 01, 2004 12:33 PMAcctually, it's over half now, and among women 13-24, it's over 65%....it's nuts...
Posted by: Gina on December 1, 2004 07:53 PMAnd I think the infection is rising fastest among African-American women, if I remember correctly. There was a commentator on NPR's ATC this afternoon suggesting that Americans rightly worry about African victims, but they should share a little of that worry for their own country's citizens, too.
Posted by: Linkmeister on December 1, 2004 09:00 PMTwenty+ years and we still have a day to remember AIDS...who would have thought that we still don't know about AIDS to prevent and cure it?
Posted by: sally on December 1, 2004 11:47 PMPosted by: Robyn on December 2, 2004 11:41 AM
Is it too much to ask people to wear condoms or not share needles? For Pete's sake that would sure help.
A cure is coming eventually, but until then, for the good of humanity, put a boot on it.
Posted by: Easycure on December 2, 2004 04:19 PM