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World AIDS Day
December 1, 2004
When the entire world observes World AIDS Day today, we ought to know the
increase in the number of HIV affected people in the world and its
consequences.
A stark truth reveals that India has the second largest ADS/HIV cases in the
world nearly 4 million. The ground reality is that Delhi has 25,000 people who
are HIV-positive and that the number of full-blown AIDS cases in the city is
950, from 359 cases in December 1999. Of course the number has escalated with
the five years. The "AIDS Epidemic Update" released each year by the United
Nations and the World Health Organization states that some 40 million people
around the world are living with AIDS or HIV.
Causal Factor
The main reason behind the cause of this deadly and contagious disease is the
lack of unawareness of the impacts of the malady. The AIDS cases are reported
not only in rural areas but also in the urban areas of the world. Most people
remain stumped when faced with a query on the difference between HIV and AIDS.
Many cases have been reported among the children below 18 years of age which
takes their life in the budding stage itself. Concrete measures like making the
introduction of sex education in schools compulsory, however, remain elusive.
Unsafe sex and improper blood transfusion leads to this disease. Misconceptions
about the disease abound. "Most patients don't know that AIDS is not a
contagious disease.
Entire World Affected
Being World AIDS Day, health authorities warn the disease is reaching epidemic
proportions in new parts of the world. The report estimates that three million
people died of AIDS-related causes in the past year, including 2.4 million
adults and 580,000 children. More than 2 million deaths occurred in sub-Saharan
Africa.
In addition, there were five million new infections, including 4.3 million
adults and 800,000 children. Of these, 3.4 million were in sub-Saharan Africa.
The largest number, over 28 million, of AIDS sufferers live in sub-Saharan
Africa. In 16 African nations, at least 10% of those between 15 and 49 are
infected while in seven southern African countries the rate of infection in
that age group reached 20%. 4.7 million South Africans, about one in nine of
the country's people, is HIV-positive, the largest number in the world.
Other hard-hit countries include Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana,
which has about the highest infection rate in the world. Half of the population
between 25 and 29 are dying of the disease. HIV is spreading fastest in Eastern
Europe and Central Asia. There were 250,000 new infections in this region in
the past year, bringing the total to one million.
Russia, Ukraine, and Estonia have reported big increases in HIV-positive
results, while several Central Asian republics have seen a rise in infection
among drug-using populations.
In 1999, only Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia had serious AIDS epidemics.
However, HIV infection is spreading rapidly through the region.
Future of the World
The increase in the number of affected people shows the deterioration of the
world and the sexual imbalance of the people. Will the number of patients
increase or decrease on December 1 2005?
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