Way back in the 1980s the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which may ultimately lead to the development of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), was brought to the public consciousness. I was one of the young men who thought that the age of reckless and indiscriminate sex was at an end, and that the fear of AIDS would be the beginning of reticence and forbearance when it came to casual sex. Man, was I wrong!
AIDS is a disease in which there is a severe loss of the body’s cellular immunity, greatly lowering the resistance to infection. Over the years, and even to present times, the statistics have been quite alarming.
Statistics: Worldwide
- Nearly 37 million people globally are living with HIV.
- 6 million living with HIV are under the age of 15.
- In 2014, an estimated 2 million people were newly infected with HIV; of which 220,000 were under the age of 15.
- Every day about 5,600 people contract HIV, which is more than 230 every hour.
- In 2014, 1.2 million people died from AIDS.
- Since the start of the pandemic, nearly 78 million people have contracted HIV and close to 39 million have died of AIDS-related causes.
- As of March 2015, around 15 million people living with HIV (41% of the total) had access to antiretroviral therapy.
https://www.amfar.org/worldwide-aids-stats/
https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/campaigns/HowAIDSchangedeverything/factsheet
The Sub-Saharan Africa Picture
More than two-thirds (70%) of all people living with HIV, 25.8 million, live in sub-Saharan Africa—including 88% of the world’s HIV-positive children. In 2014, an estimated 1.4 million people in the region became newly infected. An estimated 790,000 adults and children died of AIDS, accounting for 66% of the world’s AIDS deaths in 2014.
There have been a lot of campaigns championing HIV/AIDS awareness in our nation. But given the statistics, it does not seem that the messages have hit home. In my opinion, each one of us knows of someone who has succumbed to AIDS and died.
AIDS is no laughing matter, and we need to do more to stop the spread of the dreaded disease. We need to encourage everyone in our various communities to talk to their friends and family about HIV and AIDS.
Men, we need to get out of our comfort zone of thinking that HIV is not personally relevant to us, though we engage in unprotected sexual relations with partners whose HIV statuses we do not know. Take note! The most significant route by which HIV is transmitted is unprotected heterosexual contact. Other routes that transmit HIV are contaminated blood transfusions; contaminated hypodermic needles; mother to child transmission, via pregnancy, during delivery or through breastfeeding.
AIDS is caused by infection with HIV. A person may experience a brief period with flu-like symptoms, before a long period with no symptoms.
HIV infection makes you susceptible to infections like tuberculosis and certain cancers. In the final stages of AIDS, lung infections and a type of cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma are common.
Men we do have a big responsibility in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS by:
- Starting a conversation about HIV,
- Getting tested for HIV, and
- Using condoms at all times.
We must act responsibly. Once we know our HIV status through testing, we should conduct our sexual activities and engagements in a more responsible manner so as not to get infected if we are HIV negative or endanger others or spread the disease if we are HIV positive.
There are still some serious questions to be asked and answered, like: Why, despite the progress made in treating HIV/AIDS, it is still spreading in sub-Saharan Africa?
- Are we taking more sexual risks, like not wearing condoms?
- Do we feel that females cannot transmit HIV/AIDS?
- Do we still think it is a gay/homosexual disease?
- Are we guided by how someone looks to decide if they may or may not be HIV positive?
- Are there adequate and effective HIV/AIDS awareness in our communities?
- Is the information on safe sex easily available?
Talk to your family doctor, or one of the HIV/AIDS agencies in your area, or visit a health center, if you are interested in knowing your HIV status.
Men, it is time we start acting more responsibly when it comes to sex. We should talk about HIV/AIDS…with our friends, work colleagues, our wives or girlfriends, and our children.
You should know your HIV status so that you are not one of those assaulting others with a deadly weapon – your penis – if you are HIV positive.