Kate Dailey
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Jun 26, 2009 12:25 PM
Tomorrow is National HIV Testing Day—do you know your status? One can be forgiven for thinking that HIV awareness days seem like a very '90s throwback. The intensity—some might say hysteria—at the apex of the AIDS crisis has long since subsided, but instead of coming away with a more reasoned, nuanced, and smarter attitude toward safe sex and HIV prevention, most of the country just seems eager to forget everything about that very scary time, including the lessons we learned.
It's a condition Dr. Susan Blumenthal, former U.S. assistant surgeon general and chair of the Global Health Program at the Meridian International Center, calls "AIDS amnesia" in a new article on the state of AIDS treatment, prevention, research, and policy. She writes:
Each year, more than 2 million people die from this disease. While significant attention has been focused on the newly emergent H1N1 “swine” flu that has resulted in the deaths of 238 people globally, every 15 seconds a person is infected with HIV worldwide and every nine and a half minutes in the United States. A 2008 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that 56,000 Americans are infected with HIV annually, a number that is 40 percent higher than previous estimates. Our nation’s youth, ages 13 to 34, composed 41 percent of new HIV infections in 2006. In our nation’s capital, 1 in 20 people are HIV positive. Yet, a recent poll reveals that there is AIDS amnesia in America with only 6 percent of people in the United States naming this disease as a national health problem, down from 44 percent in 1997.
In the almost 30 years since the CDC recognized AIDS, treatments have improved, stigmas have lessened, and awareness has increased. But there's still much to be done. I've included Blumenthal's entire article after the jump. It's a great, comprehensive look at what we should accomplish on several fronts to keep Americans and the world free from HIV and AIDS. Policy can be wonky and dense, but it's essential. So for those who are so inclined, click "MORE" to read her entire paper. For everyone else: make an appointment to get tested.
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