Posted by student LINDSEY CLARK – In 1959, the first known AIDS case was reported in the Congo. In 1981, the first case was reported in the United States. Now in 2007, the World Health Organization estimates that 33.2 million are living with AIDS. AIDS has killed an estimated 25 million since 1981. The epidemic has hit hardest in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 22.1 million are infected and the disease has left 12 million children orphaned.
As we approach World AIDS Day, AIDS may no longer be of epidemic proportions in the United States, but it certainly is devastating millions all over the world. Many cannot afford the treatment needed. Many fear the stigma attached to AIDS and therefore, will not seek testing, let alone treatment.
The statistics on AIDS were just numbers to me for many years until I traveled to Uganda. There, I met a frail man by the name of Kizza. In addition to being infected with AIDS, Kizza has polio, and as a result, could not walk. He crawled on the ground, on limbs no thicker than a twig. He is a farmer and uses his little earnings to support his four children and send them to school. Kizza does not earn enough money to pay for anti-retrovirals (ARVs) that could improve his health. In Kizza, I saw not only the physical effects of AIDS, but the emotional and psychological effects as well. Here was a man that wanted nothing more than to provide for his kids but could not because of poverty and because of his debilitating health.
Contrasted to Kizza is the story of AID Child, an orphanage in Uganda that cares for young children living with AIDS. Outside the orphanage are 16 flags, representing the children that lost their fight with the disease. Inside, there is not the fear of death, but joy, as young children receive the care they need and are able to go to school. They are beating the slim odds of survival. AID Child offers hope.
Tomorrow is World AIDS Day. Please take a moment to think of those who are affected by this disease. From those living with AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa to those suffering from the disease right here in Arkansas, all are facing issues related to stigma and treatment. While AIDS is often portrayed as the new “black death,” there is some hope that the people living with this horrendous disease would not be limited by it but instead could live out their lives like the children at AID Child. We must continue to work to end the epidemic and instill more hope. If there is hope of a better life, the Kizza’s of Africa will seek out that treatment to get better. If there is hope, more people in the world might be embraced and not shunned because they have AIDS. And that hope is the foundation for change.