Aids Awareness – 2

World acquired immune deficiency syndrome day season, observed on 1 December every year, is dedicated to raising sensation of the assistpandemiccaused by the spread of HIV transmission system. Government and health officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on the aid topics. Since 1995, the President of the fall in States has do an officialproclamationon World acquired immune deficiency syndrome Day. Governments of crude(prenominal) nations have followed suit and issued similar announcements. AIDS has killed more(prenominal) than 25 million people amidst 1981 and 2007,1and an estimated 33. million people worldwide live with HIV as of 2007,2making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved nark to antiretroviral treatment and c atomic number 18 in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 2 million lives in 2007,3of which about 270,000 were children. 4 World AIDS Day was first conceived in A ugust 1987 by James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, two public information officers for the Global course on AIDS at theWorld Health presidential termin Geneva, Switzerland. 56Bunn and Netter took their idea to Dr.Jonathan Mann, Director of the Global Programme on AIDS (now known asUNAIDS). Dr. Mann liked the concept, approved it, and agreed with the recommendation that the first communion of World AIDS Day should be 1 December 1988. Bunn, a broadcast journalist on a leave-of-absence from his reporting duties at KPIX-TV in San Francisco, recommended the watch of 1 December believing it would maximize coverage by western news media. Since 1988 was an election year in the U. S. , Bunn suggested that media outlets would be weary of their post-election coverage and intent to find a fresh story to cover.Bunn and Netter determined that 1 December was long enough after the election and soon enough before the Christmas holidays that it was, in effect, a dead spot in the news calendar and th us perfect timing for World AIDS Day. On 18 June 1986 KPIXS AIDS lifeline (a community education project initiated by Bunn and KPIX Special Projects Producer Nancy Saslow) was honored with a Presidential Citation for Private Sector Initiatives presented by President Ronald Reagan. Because of his persona in AIDS Lifeline Bunn was asked by Dr. Mann, on behalf of the U. S. government, to take a two-year leave-of-absence to join Dr.Mann, an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control, and assist in the creation of the Global Programme on AIDS for the coupled Nations World Health Organization. Mr. Bunn accepted and was named the first Public Information Officer for the Global Programme on AIDS. Bunn and Netter conceived, designed, and implemented the inaugural World AIDS Day observance now the longest-running disease aw atomic number 18ness and cake initiative of its sort in the history of public health. TheJoint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS(UNAIDS) became operation al in 1996, and it took over the planning and promotion of World AIDS Day. 7Rather than counseling on a single day, UNAIDS created the World AIDS Campaign in 1997 to focus on year-round communications, bar and education. 78 In its first two years, the ancestor of World AIDS Day focused on children and young people. These infrastructures were strongly criticized at the time for ignoring the fact that people of all ages may become infected with HIV and support from AIDS. 7But the makeups drew attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, helped alleviate some of the stigma surrounding the disease, and helped boost recognition of the problem as a family disease. 7 In 2004, the World AIDS Campaign became an independent organization. 789 Each year, PopesJohn Paul IIandBenedict XVIhave released a greeting message for patients and doctors on World AIDS Day. 101112131415 In 2007, theWhite Housebegan marking World AIDS Day with the iconic display of a 28-foot AIDS Ribbon on the buildings North P ortico. 16The display, now an annual tradition, quickly garnered attention, as it was the first banner, sign or symbol to prominently hang from the White House since theAbraham Lincolnadministration. editChoosing the theme From its inception until 2004,UNAIDSspearheaded the World AIDS Day campaign, choosing annual themes in consultation with other global health organizations. As of 2008, each years World AIDS Day theme is chosen by the World AIDS Campaigns Global Steering Committee after extensive consultation with people, organizations and government agencies involved in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. 7For each World AIDS Day from 2005 by dint of 2010, the theme will be Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise. , with a yearly sub-theme. 7This overarching theme is designed to encourage political leaders to keep their commitment to achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care, and support by the year 2010. 7 This theme is not specific to World AIDS Day, but is u sed year-round in WACs efforts to highlight HIV/AIDS awareness within the context of other major global events including theG8 Summit. World AIDS Campaign also conducts in-country campaigns throughout the world, like theStudent Stop AIDS Campaign, an infection-awareness campaign staining young people throughout the UK.Today many people around the world are infected with a serious disease calledAIDS. Unfortunately, the disease has led to many deaths worldwide and yet it so far re of imports untreatable. Many Public Health divisions are now taking the lead in publicizing education about AIDS. Public awareness and prevention programs are possible solutions to the spread of AIDS. The issue of this paper is on AIDS Prevention Programs that target women. One outlook is that prevention programs that target women will quash the number of infections around the world.People opposed to this study that prevention programs should aim more towards males. The disease is obviously an important social issue which impacts people worldwide. Certain associations and studies deliberate that women are more at danger then men for contracting HIV/AIDS. They believe prevention programs should be focused merely on women. AIDS cases for women are increasing each year and women are one of the fastest growing populations being infected. At the end of 2002, UNAIDS, a Joint United Nations Progamme on HIV/AIDS, reported that 38. 6 million adults are infected with HIV or AIDS worldwide.Roughly 50% or 19. 2 million are women. globally speaking, most women infected with HIV or AIDS are from developing countries. The fastest spread of AIDS among women is in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1999, for the first time more women than men were infected with HIV. Out of 22. 3 million people infected in sub Saharan Africa 12. 2 million, or 55%, are female. Of the 1. 1 million youth infected in south Asia, 62% are female. According to research by the CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the come up of AIDS cases in women have more than tripled in the United States.Since 1985, 7% of women were affected to 25% in 1999. With the number of AIDS cases in women increasing, organizations are relying on prevention programs aimed towards women to be the effective solution to prevent the spread of the virus amongst men and women. We dejection write a custom essay on AIDS for you In contrary to the opposing viewpoint, reports by UNAIDS felt that men should be the main focus in the prevention programs. In 2000, UNAIDS commenced a World AIDS Campaign which pushed for men to become more involved in preventing the spread of the AIDS outbreak. We must stop seeing men as some kind of problem and begin seeing them as part of the solution, according to Dr Peter Piot, the head director of UNAIDS. Working with men to change their behavior and attitudes has tremendous latent to slow down the epidemic. It will also improve the lives of men themselves, not to mention those of their families. T here are several reasons why men should remain the main target to the prevention of the epidemic. The focus is mainly on changing sexual behaviors amongst men. Men grow up with certain beliefs and attitudes on how they should behave when dealing with intercourse.Dr. Elvira Belingon, Department of Health STD/AIDS Coordinator in Cordillera explained that worldwide studies prove that men are at a greater stake of spreading the disease because they are presumable to have more unprotected intercourse and sexual partners than women do. Too often, it is seen as unmanly to worry about avoiding drug-related risks, or to bother with condoms, said Dr Piot. UNAIDS feel these cultural beliefs and expectations entrust men to become vulunerable to AIDS which endangers their own health or the health of their partners and family.This vulner king has already affected gay and bisexual men in the United States. stirually transmitted diseases such as syphilis have rose for the second year in a row. The government feels that gays and bisexuals are more predisposed to these sexually transmitted diseases and with the help of these prevention programs they can decrease that number. In evidence to help control the AIDS epidemic, organizations feel prevention programs should focus more on mens behavior. I believe that prevention programs should be aimed towards women because of he steady increase of infections year to year. Women are more susceptible to HIV infection for several reasons. Biologically, females are estimated to be eight times more likely of receiving and HIV transmission from a male compared to female-to-male transmission. In 1997, the CDC reported that 38% of women received HIV through straightaway intercourse opposed to 7% of men. Women are more at risk because the surface bailiwick in a females genital tract is greater exposed than in males. During intercourse larger amounts of semen fluids are released than in vaginal fluids.This puts women at risk because sem en contains a higher amount of HIV. Also, women often have sexually transmitted infections that are left untreated, which increases exposure to HIV. Women who have STDs, sexually transmitted diseases, especially those that cause ulcerations make it easier for HIV to enter the body. Genital sores and immune reactions related with STDs face a greater risk of HIV infection. handling of STDs can be an efficient HIV prevention tactic if prevention programs educate women on this exposure. Other biological factors deal with young women among the ages of 13 to 19.Girls in Charge coordinator, Judah-Abijah Dorrington, explained that 49% of all the AIDS cases reported in the United States since 1997 were among these young women. This age group is infected because they have not fully sinless their biological development. Many of the women obtained HIV in their teens because of having an underdeveloped cervix and low vaginal mucus production. In the report by AIDS Weekly, young women are found to have three to five times higher HIV infections than among boys. Young women really are being viewed as the population with the largest number of new infections, said Dr.Cynthia Gomez, professor for the AIDS Prevention Center at the University of California at San Francisco. They dont realize theyre at risk, partly because weve only emphasized certain groups, preferably than behaviors. Women are vulnerable to infection for their lack of power within sexual relationships and sexual violence. Womens lack of power makes it difficult for them to negociate safer sex with partners. Women angle not to discuss condom use within relationships in fear of winnow oution or loss of economic support. When women are in committed relationships, they mainly focus on the intimacy in their relationship.They assume they are in a monogamous relationship with their partner. Unsafe sex becomes more important than protection a bring home the baconst HIV. This dependency of men increases the risk o f AIDS for women. A report from Secretary General of the United Nation, Kofi Annan concluded, The gender dynamics of the epidemic are far-reaching due to womens weaker ability to negotiate safe sex, and their generally lower social and economic status. Studies in Africa have uncovered that many married women have been infected by their husband. The powerlessness of women to reject sex with their husband has been a major cause of transmission to women.Womens dependence on men makes women less able to protect themselves against AIDS. Typically, men make most decisions about when, where, and how to have sex. In developing countries, women usually maintain little control over their bodies and hold little decision-making power. Violence against women increases their helplessness to HIV and decreases their ability to defend themselves against infection. According to a study, physical and sexual abuse were disturbingly common throughout life among women at high risk for HIV infectionwomen who have been abused are more likely to use crack cocaine and have multiple sex partners. This puts women are at greater risk for rape or sexual force. Also, some women are forced to enter into sex work or short-term partnerships to exchange sex for economic gain or survival including food, refuge, and security. In many cases, women are in danger merely because they are reliant on their husbands for survival and support. This hinders and restricts their decision making and negotiating control. Sex workers are at a high risk for infection, mainly when they do not have the ability to negotiate with customers who refuse to wear a condom.In order to prevent the spread of AIDS I feel public health agencies need to raise public awareness by promoting prevention programs for women. If women are ameliorate on the biological and social factors of AIDS, women may have more of a chance to change their behaviors before the possibility of becoming infected with HIV. Programs that specifically target women will have a positive impact on women in the long-run. As new AIDS cases are increasing quickly through heterosexual contact focus on the prevention programs will take on even greater importance.People that agree with the statement that AIDS prevention programs should target women believe that women are vulnerable to HIV infection biologically and socially. To decrease infections of the AIDS virus women change their standard of living especially for women in developing countries through these prevention programs. Those that disagree focus HIV prevention efforts on heterosexual male sexual behavior. By changing male cultural and socialization patterns interventions can be effective. A widespread HIV prevention policy uses many essentials to protect as many people at risk for HIV as possible.