Today marks the 20th annual World AIDS day. Perhaps it was because I lived in San Francisco during the height of the epidemic, or because my mom worked at a hospital in the heart of the Castro district, but AIDS/HIV awareness is something that feels like it has always been with me. Even my very proper Catholic elementary school provided education on the topic and encouraged outreach to those afflicted. There have been great strides in treatment since the 1980s, but we as a society must be mindful that there still is no cure and that the disease is still running rampant in many third-world countries. The following fact from Amfar is also worrisome: "Across the world, many organizations preparing World AIDS Day events are gearing their efforts toward young people 15-24 years old, who now account for 45 percent of new HIV infections in adults." We cannot become complacent regarding AIDS education and the continued search for a cure.
2 comments:
I bought one of the designated Starbucks drinks today :)
This hits home for me - my beloved aunt has been diagnosed with full blown AIDS. She lives in SF and somehow caught the virus through a blood transfusion back in the 1980's. Here's to hope that modern medicine will work quickly.
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