3 December 2006
The Cureless Scourge
Every December 1st, we observe World AIDS Day, a day of understanding, awareness, compassion and hope for those afflicted with HIV and AIDS. Still, every six seconds someone new is infected with HIV somewhere in the world. We need to reach out and educate people on how to protect themselves against AIDS each and everyday of the year.
There are some 37 million adults in the age group of 14 to 49 living with AIDS the world over. Close to half of them are women. No part of the world is free from this pandemic and no effort is spared to highlight its deadly nature and educate people about how to fight it. South Africa’s AIDS crisis threatens to shake all of Africa and HIV is spreading like wild fire among the young in Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union.
In India, one person gets infected every minute with Tamil Nadu topping in the number of HIV-infected persons. Chennai claims a dubious distinction: the first AIDS case in India was reported from here. India has over five million HIV positive cases, second highest in the world after South Africa. It may be noted that while Africa contracted AIDS though ignorance, we did it through indifference.
As there is no remedy for AIDS as yet, the best ways to contain the spread of AIDS are to avoid unprotected sex and avoid multiple partners. It is said that AIDS, indirectly, achieved in Western countries what religion could not. The fear of AIDS made people morally good: most of them stopped jumping from bed to bed and instead chose to have single partners!