63336: wear a red ribbon on World AIDS Day

14 November 2011

Since 1988 millions of people around the world have been remembering the incredible impact HIV and AIDS have had on the human race since the late 20th Century. Every year on 1 December people wear a red ribbon to demonstrate their support for AIDS awareness campaigns and to show solidarity with the sufferers of HIV or AIDS.

So what effect has HIV/AIDS had on us? The AIDS pandemic has been traced back to 1981, with HIV being recognised as the precursor to AIDS in the mid-1980s. Since 1981 AIDS has had a devastating effect on the world, with an estimated 25 million deaths and 60 million infections. There are around 2.7 million new HIV infections each year.

The main treatment for HIV involves the use of antiretroviral drugs. Sufferers take a potent combination of these drugs which is known as HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy). There is no publicly available vaccine for HIV or AIDS but infection chances can be reduced with early treatment. There is no cure, and antiretroviral drugs are expensive, which means millions of people don't get the treatment they need. Without treatment, survival time for HIV is 9 to 11 years, with untreated AIDS having a survival time of 6 to 19 months.

Fortunately, there are many HIV/AIDS agencies and aid programmes, some of which focus on education above treatment. As there is no cure for HIV or AIDS, the best course of action is to inform people on how they can avoid being infected and how to practice safe sex. The Terrence Higgins Trust is a famous example of an organisation trying to accomplish this task and the Elton John AIDS Foundation has already raised $200 million to support HIV/AIDS programmes around the world.

Because of the global effect HIV and AIDS have had, there have been a number of odd stories that crop up regarding the ailments. For example, the Gambian president, Yahya Jammeh, claims he can cure HIV/AIDS simply with a concoction of herbs. There is also a growing movement of "AIDS denialism", people who believe that HIV is harmless and does not cause AIDS.

In parts of Africa there is a prevalent myth that having sex with a virgin will cure AIDS, which only leads to further infection. There are conspiracy theories which claim pharmaceutical companies could cure HIV or AIDS but would rather operate long-term treatments than a single cure to bolster their profits. There are even some people that claim HIV or AIDS are man-made by various shadowy government agencies (usually linked to the USA) and deliberately released as a solution for "population control". Sadly HIV and AIDS still attract a lot of stigma and a lot of ignorance.

So on 1 December buy a red ribbon and wear it with pride. Because until a cure or vaccine can be found, the best way to deal with this worldwide pandemic is through education. UNAIDS has stated that the HIV rate in the world's worst affected area, Sub-Saharan Africa, dropped by 20% from 2001-2009. Continuing education will help keep this rate falling.

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