San Francisco is Changing Face of AIDS Treatment
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/health/san-francisco-hiv-aids-treatment.html?emc=edit_th_20151006&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=25414714&referer=
Millions More Need H.I.V. Treatment, W.H.O. Says - NYTimes.com
After reading this article, I found it very sad to read that "Poor women and girls in countries with high infection rates are considered at risk both from rape and from pressure to have sex without condoms with infected men in return for money, favors, grades, job promotions and so on." It's good that they are going to be protected with this new vaccine, but in this case it really should not be a problem because women should not be raped or pressured. That is something that needs to end first before coming up with a solution to protect girls from being infected against their will.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. I understand that HIV is a serious problem, but I think the bigger issue is what you pointed out. Rape and sexual force is a huge problem in all areas. I think this problem needs to be addressed because women should not be afraid of rape or getting HIV. I understand that rape will never fully be diminished, but to better educate little boys how to treat women and control themselves is a huge factor. Once rape is diminished, the spread of HIV will diminish also.
DeleteI completely agree with you, Ellie. The new vaccine is a wonderful thing for those who have unfortunately contracted HIV but for anyone to use that to feel even a little bit better about their possible fate of getting HIV isn't solving the problem. It starts with educating the children about how to treat and respect one another AND help those who already have the disease. Then the numbers will drop dramatically.
DeleteI agree with you guys. There needs to be better education concerning respect for women(and everyone) during elementary education in my opinion. One of the largest issues besides HIV itself is stereotyping and if this stops it may help to prevent the "rape culture".
DeleteThis discussion is quite upsetting to talk about mainly because I know how serious the H.I.V. virus is. It is good to see that there is finally better planning for treatment and prevention being done. However, these new guidelines have increased the number of infected people who should get the immediate treatment by nine billion. Studies have shown that immediate treatment for the H.I.V. virus can cut down the infection rate and the number of people spreading it. A statistic that I found interested was that almost $22 billion is spent on AIDS in poor and middle income countries now and by 2020 that number is predicted to be $32 billion, not even considering the new guidelines for H.I.V.
ReplyDeleteHello everyone! I read the article regarding the cheaper treatment options in these countries where people who are infected continued to spread the H.I.V. because they were too poor to afford the treatment. When this epidemic started, this virus was considered a death sentence. I lost a few close male friends to the disease, of course, they didn't really know much about it and how to fight the spread of it. H.I.V. was stereotyped as the Gay Disease. It's really concerning that poor women and girls are being infected by being forced sexually by infected men. Hopefully there will be better access for people like this in these countries. Even though rape may not be completely eradicated, better education for those who are at a higher risk for infection can protect themselves.
ReplyDeleteThis article gives me hope for the future of HIV/AIDS patients. It is so difficult for third world countries to receive proper treatments and care for their aliments. Now there are generic drugs available to help poor women and children who otherwise stood no chance with their limited healthcare options. People in low socioeconomic status face so many obstacles already that worrying about how much more time you have because of a deadly disease only adds more stress and speeds up the pace of HIV. There is still a lot of work that needs to be down to assure that anyone who suffers from this disease receives treatment. There has been a huge leap in the efforts of treatment, but more progress will be necessary to eradicate this disease completely.
ReplyDeleteI read the first article and found that the people who are helping people with HIV/AIDS are helping not only the people of today, but the people of the future. By implementing a program called Rapid, or the "test-and-treat" method, where people who believed they have contracted either virus can be tested and treated with additional help to find an insurance that can help with the expenses. These program seems to be doing well in San Francisco since the amount of deaths from HIV have decreased tremendously. I believe that if a program like this is working, there should be a lot of support around it, because even though HIV may not affect you today, it can possible affect your children, either through a spouse or a relationship that they may have. There is always more work to be done, but if other states follow San Francisco's lead, the rates of the United Stated can decrease and we can look for a solution to help others in third world countries get the same treatment.
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