Living the in Washington, DC metro area has definitely increased my HIV/AIDS awareness. Every since I moved here, which was back in 1995, I have heard numerous stories about the increasing rates of person being infected with HIV/AIDS. Still, not much has changed over the last 14 years, except the numbers have increased tremendously. In fact, seems like more people have become more provocative and more careless.
We have to educate our children and ourselves. The youth are suffering a great deal because they are not being educated about the virus. We are teaching children how to play sports, read, dance, sing, etc, but we are not teaching them about their bodies and how to keep it healthy. Instead, young people are being taught to be abstinent. While this is great, it is also idealistic. In reality, there will be young people that will have a desire to engage in sexual activity and chose not to wait. So do we simply act like those young people don’t exist? No. We need to educate them as much as possible and teach them how to be safe. 
Washington, DC is number one in the nation for HIV/AIDS, and Baltimore is number two. African –Americans, a minority race, has the highest percent of persons infected with HIV/AIDS in the United States. As an African-American, this makes my skin cringe. We have got to make some changes and educate the community, so that we will have a surviving chance.
Stay tuned for more on this topic…
2 comments:
One of the reason I feel that there is an increase in the rate of HIV infection. Is due in fact to people NOT willing to be tested before are now going in to be tested. I also think in DC if you go the doctor they test you for the HIV infection as well. Good and Bad! First, its good because you know your status. It's bad because the numbers look bad for the citizens in DC. But those are not new numbers, they were unknown numbers before they starting making you get tested. That being said, if this information was gained because they are making get tested, that's just as bad as people not going in the first. If the information was gained by people making a decision to know their status then it is a good thing. The worst part in NOT knowing!!
--Beverly
My bad I left out something very important! Why are shock of this news? Look at the demographics we are talking about people who live in a condition where poverty is the one killer. Point in case "John Hopkins Hospital" the most famous hospital in the world is located in the worst part of East Baltimore. Yet there are people who live within a 4 block radius of this hospital who do NOT have health insurance. Let's look at "Howard University Hospital" if need to have your gallbladder remove that may not be the hospital you want to go to. If you HIV positive, or infected with HEPATIS-C now you will receive the best care in the world.
Check the demographics! These city have become the new mecca for the educated and the indigence are forgotten (if you will throw-aways). Questions, I have answers! Can't speak on DC but I can speak on Baltimore! If you pick a day at the end of month you will find people's belongings thrown out on the street. Because of being behind in one months rent. Most of the people only suffer from the condition called poverty.
Again, I think the numbers only show what we already know. Let's look the rate of increase in teenage pregnancies. There is a behavior that is NOT being addressed across all lines and we (blacks) thinking you need to be so sexually active. Not necessary! But who is talking about that? I DONE NOW....
--Beverly
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