When it comes to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the world, many people don’t realize that it is a moral fight brewing on how to properly deal with the epidemic. HIV/AIDS is plaguing blacks more so than any other race in the world. Nonetheless, the epidemic is affecting all races and all nations like never before. Even the United States of America is not immune to the epidemic because our nation’s capitol is one of four major cities hit the hardest by the epidemic. Washington, D.C.’s HIV/AIDS rate is just as high as some countries in Africa if not worse than most. Nonetheless this is where our nation’s leaders convene to pass laws and debate upcoming legislation that is suppose to help us the people.
However it seems as if our nation’s leaders as well as leaders all over the world can’t seem to get together to come up with the best way to eliminate the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is plaguing millions of lives every year. The United Nations only answer to the problem is that more funding and resources needs to be thrown at the problem however there are no legitimate statistics showing that throwing money at the problem has yielded any better results than when less money was thrown at the situation. Therefore the moral fight that is brewing over how to deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic is one that is necessary and real.
Pope Benedict XVI recently said in his first visit to the continent of Africa since becoming Pope that distributing condoms was not the answer to the problem of AIDS. He said the best strategy was the church's efforts to promote sexual responsibility through abstinence and monogamy. Now many people have criticized his comments including from government in France and Germany as well as some European Union officials saying that the Pope is way off base in saying that condoms don’t help in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Therefore the moral fight brewing on what way is best in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic is one that is needed and perhaps long overdue.
Who better than the Pope to be the moral voice in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic? The Pope’s comments come at a night when a recent report on the HIV/AIDS epidemics shows that it is hitting major cities in the U.S. just as hard as it is hitting countries in Africa where majority of the new cases of HIV and AIDS is reported. Therefore is the Pope entirely wrong in saying that condoms were not the answer to the problem of AIDS. Since 1990, the number of people with HIV/AIDS has risen every year with 33 million people reporting to have AIDS as of 2007.
So it is understandable why the Pope made his comments and evidence even backs up the Pope’s remarks but data also doesn’t show that promoting abstinence and monogamy is the key to fighting the AIDS epidemic either. Nonetheless, this moral fight that is brewing is one that should help to both sides work together to come up with a concrete solution to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is centered around education. Condoms alone will not solve the problem of HIV/AIDS but it does prevent new cases of the diseases from being spread. However at the same time, the promotion of abstinence if done properly can help decrease the sex drive and urges of some people.
This HIV/AIDS epidemic is one that needs to be attacked from all angles and that is what the Pope as well as his critics need to understand. One way is not better than the other because neither way has put any type of dent in the epidemic as the number of new cases of HIV/AIDS is increasing every year. That is why the Pope Benedict’s comments are important in fighting the epidemic because it does take some moral teaching to help people understand that condoms are only a preventive measure but the best preventative measure is to not have sex at all.
Harvard’s AIDS Prevention Research Project Director, Edward C. Green who is a self-described liberal defended what the pope has said recently about condoms and AIDS. When asked if Pope Benedict being criticized unfairly for his comments about HIV and condoms? Dr. Green said that this is hard for a liberal like me to admit, but yes, it's unfair because in fact, the best evidence we have supports his comments — at least his major comments, the ones I have seen. Dr. Green went on to say that, at least as far as African countries are concerned, Pope Benedict is correct that condom promotion doesn't lessen the AIDS problem (emphases mine): “There's no evidence at all that condoms have worked as a public health intervention intended to reduce HIV infections at the "level of population." This is a bit difficult to understand. It may well make sense for an individual to use condoms every time, or as often as possible, and he may well decrease his chances of catching HIV. But we are talking about programs, large efforts that either work or fail at the level of countries, or, as we say in public health, the level of population.”
Remember, Green is unconcerned with theology. He's looking simply at the empirical data (emphases mine): “We are seeing HIV decline in eight or nine African countries. In every case, there's been a decrease in the proportion of men and women reporting multiple sexual partners. Ironically, in the first country where we saw this, Uganda, HIV prevalence decline stopped in about 2004, and infection rates appear to be rising again. This appears to be in part because emphasis on interventions that promote monogamy and fidelity has weakened significantly, and earlier behavior changes have eroded. There has been a steady increase in the very behavior that once accounted for rates declining — namely, having multiple and concurrent sex partners. There is a widespread belief that somehow Uganda had fewer condoms. In fact, foreign donors have persuaded Uganda to put even more emphasis on condoms.”
In other words, there's some inverse relationship between HIV infection rates and promiscuity rates, which points to the benefits of preaching, literally, Christian sexual ethics -- sex only within monogamous marriage. While Dr. Green’s research and recent comments back the Pope’s comments, we must understand that there is perhaps out data out there that shows otherwise. Plus remember Dr. Green’s comments only is in regards to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa so it doesn’t go for the rest of the world such as in metropolitan cities in the United States which made up 85% of the well over one million AIDS cases reported in 2007. In 2007, the highest rates of new AIDS diagnoses were in Miami (33.1 per 100,000 people), New Orleans (31.5), Baton Rouge (31.4) and Washington, D.C. (30.5).
Therefore the Pope’s comments and Dr. Green’s data doesn’t explain why the HIV/AIDS epidemic is on the raise in the United States. So that is why the moral fight that is brewing is one that is needed as long as the end result is educating people. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is one that can’t be solved with simply distributing condoms and it won’t be solved by simply preaching abstinence and monogamy. It will take a combination of both in order to fully eradicate the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is running rampant throughout the world but most particularly Africa. That is why the moral fight against the HIV/AIDS s epidemic is one that is needed now more than ever in order to fight these diseases vigorously.
America is no better off than any other nation in fighting the epidemic because in our nation’s capital 4% of Black residents in Washington D.C. - and 7% of Black men - have tested HIV-positive underscores the degree to which America has lost its way in the fight against AIDS. In the capital of the world's richest and most powerful country, HIV prevalence is higher than in Port-au-Prince , the capital of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere . HIV prevalence among Black men in Washington is 40% higher than in sub-Saharan Africa generally. Infection levels among all Blacks in the District of Columbia are higher than in 28 African countries.
To make things worse for the United States is that the statistics released by the District constitute a failing grade on the nation's AIDS report card. Nearly 50% of people surveyed in the hardest-hit areas of Washington report having overlapping sexual partners in the last 12 months. Yet virtually no resources have been directed toward programs to alert sexually active adults to the special dangers of concurrent partnerships. 40% of sexually active adults surveyed in high-prevalence neighborhoods were not aware of their HIV status. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 75% of the new HIV infections in this country are caused by people who don't know their HIV status. 70% of those surveyed in Washington said they did not use a condom the last time they had sex.
The Pope’s comments come at a time when the capital of the world’s richest nation is losing the fight on HIV/AIDS. That is why the moral fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic is one that shouldn’t be ignored but welcomed as we try to make our biggest pitch toward eradicating the epidemic like we have never done before. The moral fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic is one that can’t be ignored and it is one that is long overdue. We have dulled millions and perhaps billions of dollars at the HIV/AIDS epidemic but money alone will not solve the problem. We have dashed out millions and millions of free condoms to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic but condoms alone will not combat the issue. We have preached abstinence and monogamy for years in order to eradicate the HIV/AIDS epidemic but the problem has only gotten worse just like sexual activity has.
It will take a combination of monetary resources and condom distribution as well as educating those who are sexually active about the diseases of HIV and AIDS. Also it will take a combination of religious teachings right along with abstinence and monogamy for those who are not sexually active and those who are married. In fact it will take a combination of monetary resources, condom distribution, abstinence and monogamy right along with all of us working together instead of against each other to help us as a people in this world combat HIV/AIDS like we have never done before. We must teach and educate one another about HIV and AIDS and why it is important to use a condom if we are sexually active and why abstinence is the best prevention for those who are not sexually active. Lastly we must teach and educate about monogamy for those who are married or who are sexually active and dating but we must stress that if you are not married than use a condom as well as monogamy.
The moral fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic should be welcomed not frowned upon. It is time for everyone to be involved in the debate of fighting HIV/AIDS. No longer can we sit on the sidelines and think that one side has the right way for fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Right now as the HIV/AIDS epidemic is getting worse, we must understand that there is no single solution to this problem and that is why all solutions are needed to deal with this issue properly.
FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS RIGHT NOW!
However it seems as if our nation’s leaders as well as leaders all over the world can’t seem to get together to come up with the best way to eliminate the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is plaguing millions of lives every year. The United Nations only answer to the problem is that more funding and resources needs to be thrown at the problem however there are no legitimate statistics showing that throwing money at the problem has yielded any better results than when less money was thrown at the situation. Therefore the moral fight that is brewing over how to deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic is one that is necessary and real.
Pope Benedict XVI recently said in his first visit to the continent of Africa since becoming Pope that distributing condoms was not the answer to the problem of AIDS. He said the best strategy was the church's efforts to promote sexual responsibility through abstinence and monogamy. Now many people have criticized his comments including from government in France and Germany as well as some European Union officials saying that the Pope is way off base in saying that condoms don’t help in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Therefore the moral fight brewing on what way is best in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic is one that is needed and perhaps long overdue.
Who better than the Pope to be the moral voice in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic? The Pope’s comments come at a night when a recent report on the HIV/AIDS epidemics shows that it is hitting major cities in the U.S. just as hard as it is hitting countries in Africa where majority of the new cases of HIV and AIDS is reported. Therefore is the Pope entirely wrong in saying that condoms were not the answer to the problem of AIDS. Since 1990, the number of people with HIV/AIDS has risen every year with 33 million people reporting to have AIDS as of 2007.
So it is understandable why the Pope made his comments and evidence even backs up the Pope’s remarks but data also doesn’t show that promoting abstinence and monogamy is the key to fighting the AIDS epidemic either. Nonetheless, this moral fight that is brewing is one that should help to both sides work together to come up with a concrete solution to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is centered around education. Condoms alone will not solve the problem of HIV/AIDS but it does prevent new cases of the diseases from being spread. However at the same time, the promotion of abstinence if done properly can help decrease the sex drive and urges of some people.
This HIV/AIDS epidemic is one that needs to be attacked from all angles and that is what the Pope as well as his critics need to understand. One way is not better than the other because neither way has put any type of dent in the epidemic as the number of new cases of HIV/AIDS is increasing every year. That is why the Pope Benedict’s comments are important in fighting the epidemic because it does take some moral teaching to help people understand that condoms are only a preventive measure but the best preventative measure is to not have sex at all.
Harvard’s AIDS Prevention Research Project Director, Edward C. Green who is a self-described liberal defended what the pope has said recently about condoms and AIDS. When asked if Pope Benedict being criticized unfairly for his comments about HIV and condoms? Dr. Green said that this is hard for a liberal like me to admit, but yes, it's unfair because in fact, the best evidence we have supports his comments — at least his major comments, the ones I have seen. Dr. Green went on to say that, at least as far as African countries are concerned, Pope Benedict is correct that condom promotion doesn't lessen the AIDS problem (emphases mine): “There's no evidence at all that condoms have worked as a public health intervention intended to reduce HIV infections at the "level of population." This is a bit difficult to understand. It may well make sense for an individual to use condoms every time, or as often as possible, and he may well decrease his chances of catching HIV. But we are talking about programs, large efforts that either work or fail at the level of countries, or, as we say in public health, the level of population.”
Remember, Green is unconcerned with theology. He's looking simply at the empirical data (emphases mine): “We are seeing HIV decline in eight or nine African countries. In every case, there's been a decrease in the proportion of men and women reporting multiple sexual partners. Ironically, in the first country where we saw this, Uganda, HIV prevalence decline stopped in about 2004, and infection rates appear to be rising again. This appears to be in part because emphasis on interventions that promote monogamy and fidelity has weakened significantly, and earlier behavior changes have eroded. There has been a steady increase in the very behavior that once accounted for rates declining — namely, having multiple and concurrent sex partners. There is a widespread belief that somehow Uganda had fewer condoms. In fact, foreign donors have persuaded Uganda to put even more emphasis on condoms.”
In other words, there's some inverse relationship between HIV infection rates and promiscuity rates, which points to the benefits of preaching, literally, Christian sexual ethics -- sex only within monogamous marriage. While Dr. Green’s research and recent comments back the Pope’s comments, we must understand that there is perhaps out data out there that shows otherwise. Plus remember Dr. Green’s comments only is in regards to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa so it doesn’t go for the rest of the world such as in metropolitan cities in the United States which made up 85% of the well over one million AIDS cases reported in 2007. In 2007, the highest rates of new AIDS diagnoses were in Miami (33.1 per 100,000 people), New Orleans (31.5), Baton Rouge (31.4) and Washington, D.C. (30.5).
Therefore the Pope’s comments and Dr. Green’s data doesn’t explain why the HIV/AIDS epidemic is on the raise in the United States. So that is why the moral fight that is brewing is one that is needed as long as the end result is educating people. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is one that can’t be solved with simply distributing condoms and it won’t be solved by simply preaching abstinence and monogamy. It will take a combination of both in order to fully eradicate the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is running rampant throughout the world but most particularly Africa. That is why the moral fight against the HIV/AIDS s epidemic is one that is needed now more than ever in order to fight these diseases vigorously.
America is no better off than any other nation in fighting the epidemic because in our nation’s capital 4% of Black residents in Washington D.C. - and 7% of Black men - have tested HIV-positive underscores the degree to which America has lost its way in the fight against AIDS. In the capital of the world's richest and most powerful country, HIV prevalence is higher than in Port-au-Prince , the capital of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere . HIV prevalence among Black men in Washington is 40% higher than in sub-Saharan Africa generally. Infection levels among all Blacks in the District of Columbia are higher than in 28 African countries.
To make things worse for the United States is that the statistics released by the District constitute a failing grade on the nation's AIDS report card. Nearly 50% of people surveyed in the hardest-hit areas of Washington report having overlapping sexual partners in the last 12 months. Yet virtually no resources have been directed toward programs to alert sexually active adults to the special dangers of concurrent partnerships. 40% of sexually active adults surveyed in high-prevalence neighborhoods were not aware of their HIV status. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 75% of the new HIV infections in this country are caused by people who don't know their HIV status. 70% of those surveyed in Washington said they did not use a condom the last time they had sex.
The Pope’s comments come at a time when the capital of the world’s richest nation is losing the fight on HIV/AIDS. That is why the moral fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic is one that shouldn’t be ignored but welcomed as we try to make our biggest pitch toward eradicating the epidemic like we have never done before. The moral fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic is one that can’t be ignored and it is one that is long overdue. We have dulled millions and perhaps billions of dollars at the HIV/AIDS epidemic but money alone will not solve the problem. We have dashed out millions and millions of free condoms to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic but condoms alone will not combat the issue. We have preached abstinence and monogamy for years in order to eradicate the HIV/AIDS epidemic but the problem has only gotten worse just like sexual activity has.
It will take a combination of monetary resources and condom distribution as well as educating those who are sexually active about the diseases of HIV and AIDS. Also it will take a combination of religious teachings right along with abstinence and monogamy for those who are not sexually active and those who are married. In fact it will take a combination of monetary resources, condom distribution, abstinence and monogamy right along with all of us working together instead of against each other to help us as a people in this world combat HIV/AIDS like we have never done before. We must teach and educate one another about HIV and AIDS and why it is important to use a condom if we are sexually active and why abstinence is the best prevention for those who are not sexually active. Lastly we must teach and educate about monogamy for those who are married or who are sexually active and dating but we must stress that if you are not married than use a condom as well as monogamy.
The moral fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic should be welcomed not frowned upon. It is time for everyone to be involved in the debate of fighting HIV/AIDS. No longer can we sit on the sidelines and think that one side has the right way for fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Right now as the HIV/AIDS epidemic is getting worse, we must understand that there is no single solution to this problem and that is why all solutions are needed to deal with this issue properly.
FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS RIGHT NOW!
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