AIDS has not gone away. In 2008, 1.7 million adults and 280,000 children under 15 years died due to AIDS, and 2.7 million people were newly infected. According to WHO and UNAIDS, the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age is still AIDS.
Although most HIV cases in Malaysia were due to injecting drug users, there had also been an increase of up to 29.9% due to heterosexual relationship. The rise in the number of women being infected with HIV is an indication that the disease has gone beyond affecting just drug users and sex workers.
We can all do to help stop the spread of HIV by getting an HIV test and urging our loved ones to do the same. It’s a small thing that will have a huge impact.
Did you know that 20 percent of people living with HIV have no idea they are infected? Did you also know that experts believe that those 20 percent are responsible for 70 percent of all new infections? The huge impact being unaware of an HIV infection plays in the spread of HIV. So getting people tested must be a high priority if the spread of HIV is to be slowed or halted. We can all raise awareness of the importance of getting tested for HIV. By spreading the word each and everyday, we can all help put an end to the spread of HIV.
Almost half of all new HIV infections in the world are among people under 25. Estimates show that more than 7,400 people become infected with HIV daily, 3,300 of whom are young people. Globally, 5.4 million young people are living with HIV. Young women under age 25 are… at an even greater risk for HIV infection and comprise 57.4% of infected youth.
Studies have clearly shown that pregnant women are at an increased risk for HIV infection. Now, a new study shows that men are at a higher risk of HIV infection from a woman if she is pregnant. A study out of the University of Washighton in Seattle and presented at the International Microbicides Conference reveals that because of biological changes of the female body during pregnancy, pregnant women are more infectious than if they were not pregnant. Over a thousand couples in which the male was HIV positive and over 2200 couples in which the female was positive were studied over a two year period. The results showed that both male to female and female to male transmission were increased during pregnancy. This fact is important because in many couples condom use during pregnancy is not seen as necessary because the female is already pregnant. This type of thinking could lead to an increase in new infections over the course of time.
By Mark Cichocki, R.N., About.com Guide to AIDS / HIV
It’s not necessary to isolate and hate People Living with HIV/AIDS. Other peoples need to be friends with them, provide many lights for human rights. Let us to continuously gives many lights for human rights and support them for keeping spirit to struggle for vitality living.
The theme for the 2010 International AIDS Memorial Day is “Many Lights for Human Rights” which is meant to promote both global solidarity and the need for collective action around HIV and human rights. In addition to commemorating the lives of those lost by AIDS, International AIDS Memorial Day is an opportunity to promote local AIDS services, encourage education and community dialogue, and advocate for the advancement of public policy. International AIDS Memorial Day is also to honor and support those who have been affected in some way by the global HIV/AIDS pandemic and fulfill the vision for a world free of AIDS by mobilizing communities to action.
The problem with the majority of people, Malaysians included, is denial of the existing situation. Most would like to think that the AIDS problem is unique to a particular part of the world. Even when there are those who acknowledge that AIDS is a problem in Malaysia, they think that it is a problem that concerns only a certain fraction of society.
In other words, many are of the view that while the threat of AIDS does exist, as long as it is not their problem, it is really not a problem. This way of thinking is really misleading, creating a false sense of safety about the AIDS situation. Denying the problem exists and thinking that it is somebody else’s problem only results in a poor understanding of the subject.
When people deny they have a problem, and when people do not think AIDS is their problem, no concrete measures are likely to be taken, the fight against AIDS will surely suffer.
Denial of the underlying problem and thinking that AIDS only infects other people will also create a dangerous trend. When one thinks one is invincible, there is a tendency to indulge in high risk activities that could expose one to the virus itself.
Preventing transmissions is the key to ending the epidemic. One percent of the adult world population is HIV infected, it means 30 to 40 million people and all people are not reached by treatment.