It is amazing to think that is was 20 years ago that I went to the first funeral of a friend of mine who passed away from AIDS. Back then it was much scarier and unknown and anyone who had the "gay cancer" as it was naively referred to back then, was sure they were going to die very soon. That is just not the case. People who are HIV+and/or living with AIDS have full lives and the stigmatism that was once there which spawned movies, such as "Longtime Companion' and 'And the Band Played On', luckily make those same movies seem very trivial and outdated now. But the epidemic is still around and the funding, unfortunately, is not. It has been cut drastically and every year I see less and less PR about the local AIDS walk, and more and more about the cancer walk. I am hoping there is room in everyones busy schedules and pocketbooks for both. I do not know anyone who has not been touched by HIV/AIDS in some way by now. 25 years after the first case was documented we have no cure, and millions have died. Drugs have kept some people living longer but they are also not the answer. We still need the education and funding for it. Let's hope the cure is out there, so that the statistics below do not keep growing at the rate they continue to...it is an epidemic, and with funding being cut, it will only get worse. It may not be the disease de jour anymore, but it has not gone away. Below are some facts. They are horrifying. I did not know that AIDS is the leading cause of death for african american women aged 25 to 34 in the US.
GLOBALLY:
-33.2 million people now live with HIV or AIDS.
-In 2007, approximately 2.5 million people were infected with HIV.
-Every day, over 6800 people become infected with HIV - almost five people per minute.
-5700 people die from AIDS every day.
-One child dies every minute.
-15 million children around the world have been orphaned by AIDS, losing one or both parents to the disease.
-Every fifteen seconds, another person age 15-24 becomes infected with HIV/AIDS.
-33.2 million people now live with HIV or AIDS.
-In 2007, approximately 2.5 million people were infected with HIV.
-Every day, over 6800 people become infected with HIV - almost five people per minute.
-5700 people die from AIDS every day.
-One child dies every minute.
-15 million children around the world have been orphaned by AIDS, losing one or both parents to the disease.
-Every fifteen seconds, another person age 15-24 becomes infected with HIV/AIDS.
IN THE US:
-Roughly one million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.
-Since the start of the AIDS epidemic, 1.5 million Americans have been infected with HIV and more than 524,000 have died of AIDS.
-At least 40,000 people are infected each year.
-African Americans account for 48% of new HIV infections.
-AIDS is the leading cause of death for African American women aged 25 to 34 and HIV rates among Hispanic women are increasing.
-The number of women living with HIV has tripled in the last two decades.
-At least half of all new infections are among people under the age of 25.
-Washington, DC has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the United States - one in 20 people are living with HIV or AIDS.
-Roughly one million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.
-Since the start of the AIDS epidemic, 1.5 million Americans have been infected with HIV and more than 524,000 have died of AIDS.
-At least 40,000 people are infected each year.
-African Americans account for 48% of new HIV infections.
-AIDS is the leading cause of death for African American women aged 25 to 34 and HIV rates among Hispanic women are increasing.
-The number of women living with HIV has tripled in the last two decades.
-At least half of all new infections are among people under the age of 25.
-Washington, DC has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the United States - one in 20 people are living with HIV or AIDS.
What can we all do?
Get the Facts, Get Involved, Get Tested
Local #'s are:
Colorado AIDS Project/Denver: 303-837-0166
Boulder County AIDS Project : 303-444-6121
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