Happy World AIDS Day!

December 1st is International World AIDS Day. Being in Melbourne right now, I hitched a train downtown to see if any events were happening in honour of the occasion. Unfortunately, nothing was happening, but I did manage to get a red ribbon to pin to my dress.


HIV/AIDS, according to the World Health Organization, infects approximately 33.5 million people worldwide. 2 million people die from HIV/AIDS a year. Though the number of new infections has decreased since 1990, the total number of infections worldwide is climbing, despite international efforts to slow and eventually stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been a beacon of hope, however, it is an extremely costly drug regime. And since the highest number of infections tend to be in the lowest income countries, ART is often nothing more than a pipe dream and a pharmaceutical's monopoly dream come true. The current best solution to solving the AIDS crisis lies not in treatment, but prevention. The only problem is that, despite HIV/AIDS being the leading infectious killer, it is still the most stigmatized major health issue in the world.

If we look at Africa specifically, HIV prevalance varies across the continent. However, in some places, the prevalence rates are something out of an apocalyptic horror movie. In Swaziland, 25% of adults are living with HIV/AIDS. Given the relatively small population of the country, it is not inconceivable that an entire country could potentially be wiped out by a single disease. Apart from HIV/AIDS being a physical killer, it is crucial to think of the cost to society to have so many adults living with the disease. An entire generation of young Africans are no longer able to work, to provide for their family, or to raise their children. In turn, this results in the children, especially the girls, having to quit school to tend to the family needs. This could include being hired maids, working the land, or in the most horrific of cases, working the streets.

Once a parent has died from AIDS, chances are the other parent is infected as well, and will also die. This creates the phenomenon of child-headed households, wherein children become parents and guardians to their even younger siblings. Again, this results in a dreary forecast for society. Not only are these children not in school, they are not given the proper nurturing and life skills needed to successfully function in society. This is a broad generalization, and surely, some orphans are able to eventually go to school and live 'normal' lives. But the truth remains that AIDS orphans often end up on the streets, urban peasants and beggars, or coping with an HIV infection as their parents' only legacy to them.

Morbid as all this may be, there is still hope. Many tribes across Africa who used to refuse condoms are now aware of the reality and devastating risks of HIV/AIDS. In a Maasai village I visited in 2008, the community was quite vocal about their need for condoms, whereas a year prior, they denied the existence of HIV/AIDS in their village. Another positive change has been the empowering of women all over the world, and specifically in Africa. Women are becoming more able to say 'no' to a partner if he isn't practising safe sex. While there is still so much rape, sexual abuse, and domineering rampant around the world, it is a slow progression, but it is nonetheless apparent.

We have much work to do in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention, and the battle is a very long and arduous one. But the key is awareness and the mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS dialogue. If we can normalize the discussion of the disease in everyday life, we can eliminate the stigma surrounding it. If we can encourage people to talk about it, we can relay the sobering facts of the disease. It's up to every one of us to be an activist, to use our voices and our privilege to create awareness, to bring the discussion to the dinnertable, and to create lasting impact and positive change.