Millions at risk as AIDS focus fades
Posted on February 8, 2010 by Jeffrey Newman
Global attention appears to be turning away from the AIDS epidemic and this comes just at the wrong time as a fresh wave of the disease is expected to infect millions of people in high risk countries a leading expert said Friday. “There seems to be a perception now that AIDS has been dealt with and we can turn our attention to other issues,” said Alan Whiteside, Director of Health Economic and HIV/AIDS research at Kwazulu Natal University. He explained that many African countries where the diseases poses the worst threat were failing to implement long-term prevention measures needed to stem the disease. “Climate change and he environment are the big issues now and politicians may abandon the battle against AIDS,” he said. The disease is developing into a “hyper-epidemic” in African countries like Malawai and Swaziland where half the women 25-29 have HIV or AIDS.
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We Can’t Give-Up
I just got back from two-weeks in Malawi on a mission trip to help forge new thinking and partnerships between business and development organizations. HIV/AIDS touches every aspect of this country in “integrate” ways with extreme poverty. Here is an excerpt from my journal to encourage everyone to HELP !
“As we navigated the vehicles and dwellers on road our discussion turned to various approaches and development options we should consider, and in the spirit of a true partnership our development partner started to share some stories that I later came to interpret as his way of re-enforcing that I heard and understand the importance of development (and now business) as an “integrated” program. In 2003 there was a bad drought and many families did not have enough maize to feed their entire families so it wasn’t uncommon for parents to allow their teenage daughters to prostitute themselves for money to buy maize. On the surface, it’s easy to hear this story and come to a conclusion through a westerner eyes … but my brief introduction to Malawi earlier in the day, now left me a sense of sadness for the for the parents who had to make this heart wrenching choice … no parent should be left with this decision. As if this wasn’t enough to hear and comprehend, our development partner retold a story he shared with my partner about a child orphaned by famine or aids (at this point I’m not sure it really matters since everything seems horribly integrated) that was placed in the care of a mother who had eventually come to point where she was struggling to feed her own family and in front of the child was complaining what a burden he was and to take him a away. You see integrated takes many forms and I now have sense of what it means”
Please find a faith based organization working in a corner of the developing world and support their work.