Solutions
Thus far, it has been found that although the AIDS problem in Syracuse and Onondaga County may not be as disastrous as in other large cities, it still needs to be addressed. The problem resides in the heart of Syracuse, mainly area codes 13202 through 13208, as indicated from the maps of AIDS rates (table). It seems almost every week that there is a newspaper article regarding the AIDS problem, either in Syracuse or elsewhere. During the Thanksgiving week of 2007, two articles were written in the Syracuse Post Standard. The first, titled “UN lowers estimate on AIDS cases”, gave a short, three paragraph overview on how the UN has predicted that only 2.5 million people will become infected with the AIDS virus this year, which is a forty percent drop from 2006 (Chong). The next, titled “AIDS epidemic could be loosening its grip”, covered the whole back page of the Sunday paper from November 25. This article further explained how the infection rate peaked in 1998 and death rate peaked in 2005. With regards to risky sexual behavior, the article stated “The sight of so many skeletons had scared a lot of Africans into changing their habits.” (McNeil). While it’s great to see the waning of the AIDS epidemic at an international level, these articles written in the Post Standard would only make a Syracuse inhabitant think the problem isn’t a threat anymore, or at home. On the contrary, Syracuse high school graduation rates are declining, poverty and subsidized housing populations are increasing, and overall Syracuse seems to have developed the perfect environment for an infectious disease such as. This matter needs immediate action before the mindset of a shrinking AIDS population sets in on the city.