Rise In HIV/AIDS

Improved Essays
The topic that I have chosen to talk about for my final project is the rise in HIV/AIDS within the black community. In this paper I will be talking about what HIV/AIDS is, the statistics and what we can do as a community to stop the current rise and cases of HIV and AIDS. The first thing about HIV and AIDS that we should understand is that NO, you cannot get the virus from any of the following: Kissing (there is a small chance of getting HIV from open-mouthed or "French" kissing if there 's contact with blood), touching, hugging, or handshakes, sharing food or drinks, sharing food utensils, towels and bedding, telephones, or toilet seats, donating blood, working with or being around someone with HIV, getting bit by a mosquito, swimming pools …show more content…
We as African Americans account for a very large portion of newly diagnosed cases of HIV and AIDS. According to CDC, in 2014, 44% of newly diagnosed HIV cases in the US were among African Americans. About 73% were men and 26% were women. 57% were either gay or bi-sexual and were between the ages of 13-24. That is a very scary thing to know. The current rise for HIV and AIDS in the black community could be due from no one knowing that they are infected which is why getting tested is strongly recommended. The rise could also stem from what we see on TV. The youngster like to imitate what current celebrities are doing. They think that it is okay to sleep with multiple women, have multiple babies and have unprotected sex because that it the cool thing” to do. Some men are also on the “down low” and have no regards to other people’s lives even though they run the risk of spreading certain diseases. This alone put some of our unknowing African American females at risk. You do have those however who know that they are fooling around with bi-sexual or “low down” men but still choose to have sexual relations with them. When sleeping with someone who is infected, they run the risk of catching other diseases which could increase their chances of having HIV or …show more content…
If they are felling any different than they usually do then they should seek medical attention especially if they came in contact with someone who has the virus or may be infected with it. They should know the most common ways that the virus is transmitted and how to prevent catching it. Sex education should be talked about with our youth children and safe should be discussed as well as handing out condoms to them since we know that in this day in age no one really waits for the “right” one anymore. I have also noticed in news reports that some people pass along the deadly disease because someone may have knowingly given it to them so they wanted to ruin someone else’s life because of what was done to them. Younger children contract it because they were sexually assaulted by a person who is HIV

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