“The human immunodeficiency virus causes an infection in humans that may lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.” A mouthful of a statement, and perhaps even a daunting one.
It is arguable that HIV and AIDS are in fact, daunting terms after all. This virus and disease date back to the era of permed hair, voguing and dancing queen, labelled as topics of extreme taboo and stigma. So, what is it that makes HIV and AIDS so different from other health issues?
The distinction between HIV and AIDS
Firstly, there is a large misconception regarding semantics. What are HIV and AIDS, truly? Although the two terms are related, they are not interchangeable as many seem to think.
HIV is the virus itself. It can be contracted by humans through a number of different routes and causes infection. AIDS is the syndrome that may come about as a result of this infection, which causes a drastic decrease in the body’s immune system, which usually works to fight against illness and disease.
This, therefore, means that a simple cold could be fatal to someone who has AIDS, as the body is unable to fight it.
Secondly, the routes through which HIV is contracted are ones that are associated with certain behaviours and classes of people, especially back in the 80s when it first emerged.
One can receive HIV through three main routes: sexual intercourse, needle-sharing, and birthing. As a result, a stigma was born, one which we unfortunately sometimes still see today; that AIDS is the illness of homosexuals, the illness of drug addicts, the illness of the sexually promiscuous. However, the reality is that HIV sees no colour, no identity, no sexual orientation, and ultimately has no cure.
ART therapy
It has proven difficult to achieve a gold-standard treatment to help in the eradication of AIDS, because of the myriad of strains that HIV possesses. However, science has since produced antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people who are HIV-positive. Science is improving this therapy constantly and making it more globally accessible.
As a result, the number of people dying from AIDS has substantially decreased, and it being a death sentence has become a thing of the past. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of deaths due to AIDS were 56% fewer in 2018 than in 2004. In fact, ending the AIDS epidemic is in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations back in 2015.
The importance of sexual education
So you may be thinking, if there currently is no remedy, how can AIDS be fully eradicated within the decade? The answer lies in the wise words of Desiderius Erasmus: “Prevention is better than cure.” Although AIDS is one of the largest epidemics to ever hit humanity, it is also the best avoided, and the first step to do so is through education.
Sexual education should no longer be a topic of taboo, but one that is encouraged and implemented.
Let us…
- …emphasise to our children that safe sexual practices are there to keep them healthy and unharmed, and not to simply prevent unwanted pregnancies.
- …speak more openly about the health care services provided, that checking up at the GU clinic is just as important as checking up at your general practitioner.
- …introduce sexual education catered for all sexual orientations and practices.
- …promote the availability of medications such as PrEP, which protect those that are more likely to get HIV than others.
- …end all stigma and all taboo that come with HIV and AIDS by being the first to break the silence.
Join MMSA on the 1st December in Valletta in front of the Parliament building…
…where we shall be putting up information stands on safe sexual practices and AIDS prevention in collaboration with GU Clinic, HPDP, MGRM and VJ Salomone.
Helpful contacts:
GU Clinic Direct Line: (00356) 2545 7494; For appointment: (00356) 2122 7981
This article is dedicated to all men and women who have faced discrimination in light of their HIV status. May the future be brighter.
cover image: source
