AIDS: What’s the Story

4 June 2008

So I got into this conversation about the AIDS epidemic in Africa with a friend of mine, and I quickly found out what I really did not know about the situation. A couple days later I got a text message from him suggesting that I check out this website called “Alive and Well“. So I did, and quickly realized how much bad information is floating around out there. I encourage you to take a look as well. Below are a couple of snip-its from the site.

“According to the 1999 World Health Organization (WHO) report, the total number of actual diagnosed AIDS cases on the African continent is about equal to the total for AIDS in America even though Africa, with its 650 million people, has more than two times the population of the USA. (61) Africa is often cited as a worst case example of what could happen in America despite figures that demonstrate that 99.5% of Africans do not have AIDS, and among Africans who test HIV positive, 97% do not have AIDS. (62)”

“Unfounded estimates, rather than unprotected sex, are responsible for the alarming number of AIDS cases said to occur in Africa. United Nations’ AIDS estimates were cited as the inspiration for a recent news report claiming “a Kenyan dies of AIDS every three minutes.” (68) If Kenyans were dying at this rate, there would be more than twice as many dead Kenyans in just one year than have ever been actually diagnosed with AIDS in the entire period of time known as the AIDS epidemic.”

I also came across these AIDS prevention ads, while searching around for information… interesting to say the least.