World AIDS Day

Developed by Andrew Brown, Bonner Foundation Intern Fall '05 - Spring '06

Download Word File:  AIDSDayReflection-1.doc

Purpose: To raise our awareness of the AIDS epidemic and the effect it has on the world and our more local communities. To see how AIDS is tied into other social, economic, political, and even religious problems and struggles.

     More than 39 million people around the world are living with HIV – slightly more than the population of Poland. Nearly two-thirds of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the dramatic rise in cases among women is particularly evident. The global HIV/Aids epidemic killed more than three million people in 2004. More than 25 million people have died from AIDS since 1981. East Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia show the sharpest rises in HIV cases. Recently numerous attacks have been made toward leading countries and the UN about the lack of success in slowing the spread of AIDS around the world. If no improvements are made, reports suggest that the number of new infections could be as high as 45 million by 2010.

     AIDS is not just a epidemic among developing nations either. It is estimated that at the end of 2004 over 400,000 adults and children living in America were living with AIDS. It is also estimated that 38,000 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in 2004 alone.

     Often the AIDS crisis around the world is ignored in America because people either believe it is not a problem in our country or they believe AIDS is simply the result of moral degeneration, therefore it is a moral and not a political or social problem. Unfortunately this has caused the issue to take a back seat while the number of AIDS victims in our country and worldwide continues to increase. Despite any current efforts to educate the world about the issues surrounding this epidemic either the word is not getting out, or something is keeping people from acting, be it apathy, social constraints, etc. Hopefully we can look deeper into some of these issues ourselves and help to educate our own communities and work towards making people aware of what can be done to stop the continued spread of AIDS and HIV.

Exercise:

     Use the internet to find and review the following 5 articles (use others at your own discretion). Either pick one or two to read and discuss as a group or split everyone into smaller groups to discuss each article independently. If there is time, come back together and share with one another what each group learned. Look for the following as you read in each article:

1. What are the issues or problems that are addressed in this article?
2. What connections are made between the AIDS epidemic and other social or economical issues such as poverty, custom, and social inequality?
3. According to this article, why does AIDS continue to spread within this culture and context?
4. Do the problems in your article exist in every culture and context?
5. Can you find similar problems surrounding AIDS in America today?
6. What ways might this article lead us to find solutions? Are these solutions feasible?
7. Can you think of your own ways that might help fight for people in these situations?

Articles:

• Why March?- BBC News article from Thursday, December 1, 2005. See second attachment.
• UN Puts Children in Forefront of AIDS Effort – NY Times article from October 26, 2005.
• Texts Used for Nigeria HIV Drive – BBC News article from Wednesday, November 9, 2005.
• Why We are Failing African Girls – BBC News article from Tuesday, November 30, 2004.
• Cultural Norms Fuel HIV in Malawi –BBC News article from Tuesday, November 30, 2004.

     Come up with more questions that might link the articles to issues that you and your program are talking about or interested in studying further. AIDS has become a complex and difficult problem that must be studied and understood in many different cultures and contexts before we will be able to stop it from devastating families and communities around the world. Do what you can to help. The first step is to always learn what we can about the real problem. The following websites will provide some additional information if you want to continue your research:

• Know HIV/AIDS
• Avert
• The Global Spread of HIV 

     Educating yourself and your community is very important. If you want to do more, organize an AIDS awareness informational sessions on your campus or in nearby towns and cities. Write letters to your Senators and Congressmen about your concern for AIDS. If you would like any help finding information or organizing events in the future please contact me at andrew@bonner.org, and the Bonner Foundation will do what it can to help.