World AIDS Day

The book, The Origin of AIDS, by Jacques Pepin unveiled a new perspective on the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. I really appreciated Pepin’s scientific background as an infectious disease physician, and an epidemiologist. This background allowed for me see how a medical professional of his expertise would look at the situation as a whole. A couple tactics I was not fond of, however, was the trivial information Pepin’s included throughout his book. This information did not give a deeper meaning…

Introduction The world has become a better place than it used to be. Individuals are healthier, live longer, and wealthier, yet the escape from poverty by many has left inequality gaps between nations and individuals. In the book The Great Escape, Angus Deaton, who is one of the leading experts on economic poverty and development, narrates an incredible story of how some parts of the world in the past experienced progress while others did not, leading to inequality in today’s world (Deaton).…

“In 2010, African American gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men represented an estimated 72% (10,600) of new infections among all African American men and 36% of an estimated 29,800 new HIV infections among all gay and bisexual men. (CDC, 2015).” To address HIV in vulnerable populations in 2006 The National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition (NBGMAC) was created to advocate saving the lives of black men though research, policy, education, and training. While some people may…

The moral reform movement was a collective effort by ill-equipped parents, “settlement workers and vice reformers joined with club leaders, probation officers, social workers, and sex educators” to combat the scourge of prostitution and to bring under control the newly sexualized population of young working women in the 1900’s (Alexander, 1995, p. 41). Once the young women got a taste of freedom, they “profess utter lack of respect for their parents and contempt for their home life” and…

Fixing a Problem: AIDS The book Nine Hills to Nambonkaha covers a number of different elements that are present in Africa. It teaches the reader of what life is like in Ivory Coast; it portrays a picture far different than what we are used to as Americans. The book speaks of a resilient village called Nambonkaha; things are good in Nambonkaha, but certainly not perfect. The village is without, and therefore seeks, electricity and other basic commodities that we take for granted in the Unites…

chance to recover and become strong enough to fight of cancers and other infections. This treatment is suggested for everyone that has HIV. If it is left untreated the HIV will begin attacking the immune system and eventually will develop and turn into AIDs. Once people have contracted the disease they may experience flu-like symptoms which will result within 2-4 weeks after contracting it. Although, during this stage some may develop mild infections or chronic signs and symptoms. These…

infected through sexual intercourse, sharing of needles, pregnancy, and blood transfusions (2015). It was very common to believe that a person with AIDS just becomes affected with AIDS, but in reality the person first becomes infected with the HIV virus, which then leads to the beginning of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). According to the World Health…

was fighting the AIDS virus, audaciously addressed the 1992 Democratic Nation Convention about the spread of the AIDS virus and other sexually transmitted disease along with the inequitable treatment that most Americans were getting. Glaser’s was an active member in the fight against the spread of AIDS. She gave a speech in front of a Democratic Convention and was a founder of an organization to stop the spread of AIDS. Glaser gives her personal life story about her fight with AIDS and the…

AIDS activist Mary Fisher delivered her “A Whisper of AIDS” speech on August 19th, 1992, to a Republican Houston audience. Just before, the AID’s epidemic had ravaged the United States, fueling widespread panic and discrimination. Throughout her speech, Fisher described the impact the disease has on infected and bystander alike, and her call to action from the Republican political leaders in office, to take a stand against the negative connotations subjected to people who have the disease.…

HIV is a virus, a member of the Lentivirus genus, that affects 36.7 million people and only 17 million of who are on antiretroviral treatment (World Health Organization, 2016). There is no cure for HIV, however a mixture of three antiretroviral drugs tends to be effective in controlling it (Lewis, 2011). HIV is a sexually transmitted disease meaning that it can only be transmitted via the exchange…