Columnist Anna Ayers discusses World AIDS Day and why people should take the opportunity to both spread knowledge about and try to help those with HIV/AIDS.
In the coming weeks, many holidays will be celebrated and many events will be remembered. Religious holidays, such as Hanukkah and Christmas, will fill many corners of the world with a festive spirit. Historic events, such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, will be remembered and honored. And then there is the acknowledgement of an epic and tragic battle for life that is reality for millions of people around the world.
Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day, and it seems like for many this opportunity to spread knowledge and help millions goes completely unnoticed. It is hard to walk toward the downtrodden when the gleam of the holiday spirit draws us to more exhilarating paths, but perhaps that is exactly the problem: We think too often that the sick are helpless and disease is so horrifying that we avoid it.
In our avoidance of a difficult topic and our attraction to the material aspects and emotional draws of the holidays, we are neglecting the approximately 35 million people worldwide living with HIV or AIDS. According to the World Health Organization, HIV is the world’s leading infectious killer. Furthermore, to make that fact even more astonishing, it is estimated that only about half of people with HIV know their status. Imagine the fear that would grip our nation and the world if only half of the people battling cancer knew of their disease, while the others went untreated.
It is easy to guess how prevalent the holidays are in the lives of most, but does the average mother or father, brother or sister, student or teacher understand how impactful this currently incurable disease truly is? Here is an idea: Author Mark Kantrowitz, a nationally-recognized expert on student financial aid, scholarships and student loans, concludes that only 20,000 students receive full scholarships each year. The Center for Disease Control estimates that approximately 50,000 people in the United States are newly infected with HIV each year.
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It may be scary to think about or even bring discomfort, but HIV/AIDS and those who suffer from it have long deserved a greater collective backing from everyone. It is time for the stigma and judgment around HIV/AIDS to end. If we are to live in a world with such deadly and infectious diseases, the least we can do is treat each other with compassion when nature is lacking in such. So as you don holiday apparel and become tantalized by the festivities, take a moment to think of who you could help save if you remembered all that is honored this December. If you could save just one life by becoming more aware and supportive, would that not be the gift worthiest of celebration?
Anna Ayers is a freshman studying journalism and finance. Did you know that Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day? Email her at aa183414@ohio.edu.
