In media examined pertaining to

In media examined pertaining to HIV: AIDS, the articles that were found portrayed how there was a definite increase in the amount of AIDS cases and that the numbers were continuing to rise. In an article from the New York Post dated July 29, 2003[1], the statistics showed that AIDS had increased for the first time since 1993. This new information during a span of ten years was shocking to officials in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They attribute the cause of this to people, specifically gay men, becoming more relaxed about the disease because of improvements in treatments. This particular mentality plays into the proliferation of the disease because when people start to assume that the matter is improving, when it’s truly not, more viral outbreaks go undiscovered. People continue to not use protection and become ignorant to what’s around them. Kathryn Bina, an official from the CDC states that because “Treatment is better… AIDS is no longer considered a serious disease…In New York City, the total reported number of AIDS and HIV cases as of March 31, 2002 totaled 76,504, according to the city Health Department.”(New York Post, pg14) Today that number is around 96,800. The first nationwide increase was chronicled in this editorial, referring to the CDC’s account; the increase of 2.2 percent took the original number of cases of 41,227 to 42,136. This was significant as this was the first escalation since 1993. Statistics disclosed within the article also show an increase of the AIDS epidemic in the gay and bisexual community throughout the years of 1999 and 2002. A 17.7 percent increase was reported. People who are better off in wealthier communities have access to medical facilities that can detect and treat the HIV earlier before it becomes full-blown AIDS. That’s the prime reason that AIDS cases are higher in Harlem compared to the other regions of New York City. Zip codes with higher populations of African Americans have more cumulative AIDS cases than those with predominantly white populations. (Refer to table 1) The area lacks the resources people need in order to fight against the disease. For example the Harlem Hospital Center serves about 19,000 HIV/AIDS patients which is about one fifth of the total people infected with the disease in the city. This is an over distribution of services because the proportion of medical professionals to patients in the facility is unequal. There cannot be an effective system of managing and providing quality health care to all of the patients.

From early on, I was always aware of the devastating effects AIDS had on the global community. New York City always held an annual AIDS Walk in Central Park and this year members of my High School participated in it. The May 20, 2007 walk raised an estimated 6,857,527 from it over 45,000 contributors[2]. The proceeds went to the primary organization, the Gay Men’s Health Crisis as well as other beneficiaries. My awareness of the disease can also be attributed to the countless advertisements of the Red Campaign. The organization, founded by legendary rock musician Bono, sponsors pregnant women in Africa by donating the proceeds of special products to fund their treatment. The Antiretroviral treatments suppress the HIV so that they may not transmit the disease to their unborn children. The Red Campaign also known as Product Red shares its partnership with many companies such as Apple Inc., The Gap and Motorola. Many celebrities have made a fair contribution to the cause whether it’s been endorsing advertisements or promoting the specific products through their work[3]. This was a major source of enlightenment to me because I formally became conscious of the AIDS epidemic throughout the world. Bringing HIV: AIDS to the forefront of global issues can only be done by educating people of all socioeconomic status and directly addressing problematic communities.

[1] The July 29, 2003 article titled “AIDS on the Rise Again- Stats show 1^st U.S. surge in 10 years” was found in the Sport and Late City Final section on pg 14.

[2] Further information can be found on aidswalk.net

[3] This is information form the New York Times Article “Calling All Cameras: Living Large, Doing Good” is about celebrities contributing to the Red Campaign global effort.