I watched “Meet the Press” this morning, and saw Bill and Melinda Gates discussing their foundation’s philanthropic investments that advance research on HIV/AIDS and promote ARVs (antiretroviral drugs) in Africa. I wish we could all be Bill and Melinda Gates. But I was convicted this morning as I watched the interview and concurently read in the newspaper that Tuesday marks the 21st “World AIDS Day.” I am doing very little to address HIV/AIDS.
In fact, since it is a sexually-transmitted disease, I think that a stigma still hovers around HIV/AIDS. We do not want to discuss it, since it ashames us. When we bring it up it, images arise of promiscuity, infidelity, and past indiscretions.
In honor of World AIDS Day this year, though, I have committed to something small: I am going to discuss with my family and friends the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This year marks perhaps the first year that the virus is in decline, but the fact remains that Thabo Mbeki and Robert Mugabe have suggested publically that poverty causes AIDS. And a rumor persists that sex with a virgin will cure someone of HIV/AIDS. And our government could be doing far more to address this issue.
What are you doing about the HIV/AIDS crisis?
