Essay on “World AIDS Day – December 1” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

World AIDS Day – December 1

On December 1 every year, the world comes together to commemorate World AIDS Day. The Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The theme for World AIDS Day has been determined by the World AIDS Campaign since 1997.

 “Leadership” has been chosen by the World AIDS Campaign as the theme for World AIDS Day 2007 and 2008. This theme will continue to be promoted with the slogan “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.”—the World AIDS Campaign (WAC) emphasis from 2005-2010.

The overall purpose of the World AIDS Campaign from 2005 to 2010 is to ensure that leaders and decision makers deliver on their – promises on AIDS, including the provision of Universal Access to Treatment, Care, Support and Prevention services by 2010. Within that five-year mission, annual campaigning themes are selected which are timely, relevant and adaptable to a number of different regions and issues.

Campaigning Function

World AIDS Campaign themes have a number of campaigning functions, including:

• Helping to generate media coverage for AIDS and World AIDS Day.
• Providing organizations that have limited resources access to meaningful campaigning materials.
• Enhancing solidarity within the global response to AIDS through working through a united effort.
• Galvanizing action both nationally and internationally in a way that other smaller scale efforts cannot by representing a world AIDS campaigning message.

One advantage of using the theme is that it can offer a universally recognized vehicle for promoting a wide range of AIDS issues. The media, governments, local businesses, and a range of institutions locally and globally embrace World AIDS Day, and the annual theme that accompanies it, as an opportunity to demonstrate commitment and action on AIDS. Therefore, a diverse range of campaigners can use the theme to promote their causes.

World AIDS Day themes over the years have included

2007 – Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise – Leadership

2006 – Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise – Accountability

2005 – Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise

2004 – Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS

2003 – Stigma & Discrimination

2002 – Stigma & Discrimination

2001 – 1 care. Do you?

2000 – AIDS : Men make a difference

1999 – Listen, Learn, Live: World AIDS Campaign with Children & Young People

1998 – Force for Change: World AIDS Campaign With Young People

1997 – Children Living in a World with AIDS

1996 – One World, One Hope 1995 – Shared Rights, Shared Responsibilities

1994 – AIDS & the Family

1993 – Act 1992 – Community Commitment

1991 – Sharing the Challenge

1990 – Women & AIDS

1989 – Youth

1988 – Communication

The AIDS red ribbon

The red ribbon is an international symbol of AIDS awareness. It is worn by people to demonstrate care and concern about HIV and AIDS, and to remind others of the need for their support and commitment.

What can I do to support World AIDS Day?

There are many ways in which you can support World AIDS Day. For example:

• Raise awareness of HIV and AIDS in your area
• Wear a red ribbon and ask others to do the same
• Protect yourself and your partners – this is the first and best way to stop the spread of HIV
• If you are worried – get tested.

At school or work, you can support World AIDS Day by:

• Putting up some posters – get people talking
• Making and selling red ribbons
• Organizing a creative writing/poster campaign
• Setting up a debate or a quiz – there’re lots of ideas for topics on our site
• Getting your friends, family, colleagues or pupils to express their feelings and expand their knowledge about AIDS

Started in 1988, World AIDS Day is not just about raising money, but also about increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

The World enters the third decade of AIDS epidemic. HIV in combination with other crisis is driving nations towards destitution. According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 39.5 million people living with HIV, including 2.3 million children, and during 2006 some 4.3 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35. Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations. HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world. These statistics clearly show how fast this epidemic is expanding all over the world, becoming a global menace threatening the very existence of human being. Asia accounts for 18% of the world total HIV infection. It is home of 60% of the world’s total population. In Asia and the pacific, 7.2 million people are now living with HIV. The projection suggests that an additional 45 million people will become infected with HIV by 2010 unless a drastically expanded global preventable effort is launched.

India the country of over one billion people, between 3.82 million and 4.58 million people (15-49 years) were living with HIV/ AIDS at the end of 2002, of which 38.5 percent were women. This is less than one percent of the country’s population. Still, India has the second highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world after South Africa. India accounts for almost 10 per cent of the 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS globally and over 60% of the 7.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the Asia and Pacific region. With a population of over one billion, the HIV epidemics in India will have a major impact on the overall spread of HIV in Asia and the Pacific and indeed worldwide.

Estimates & Projections

• As on 31st July 2004, according to NACO the total number of AIDS cases in India were 56,844 of whom 21,385 were women. This data also indicated that slightly over half (54%) of reported AIDS cases were diagnosed among people aged 30-49 years.
• The UN Population Division projects that India’s adult HIV prevalence will peak at 1.9% in 2019. The UN estimates that there were 2.7 million AIDS deaths in India between 1980 and 2000. During 2000-15, the UN projects 12.3 million AIDS deaths and 49.5 million deaths during 2015-50.

• A 2002 report by the National Intelligence Council predicted 20 million to 25 million AIDS cases in India by 2010, more than any other country’ in the world.

Different Stages

• 1986: First case of HIV detected in Chennai

• 1990: HIV levels among High Risk Groups like Sex workers and STD clinic attendants in Maharashtra and amongst Injecting Drug Users in Manipur reaches over 5 percent.
• 1994: HIV no longer restricted to high risk groups in Maharashtra, but spreading into the general population. HIV also spreading to the states of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu where high risk groups have over 5 percent HIV prevalence.
• 1998: Rapid HIV spread in the four large southern states, not only in high risk groups but also in the general population where it has reached over 1%.
• 1999: Infection rates among STD patients have reached up to 30 percent in Andhra Pradesh and 14-60 per cent in Maharashtra.
• 2001: Infection crosses one per cent in six states. These states account for 75 per cent of the country’s estimated HIV cases. The Prime Minister addresses the Chief Ministers of high prevalence states and urges them to intensify prevention activities.
• 2003: There has been an increase of about 6 lakh infections (4.58 million). This increase has been noticed primarily in states of Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

In the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu, HIV is transmitted mainly through heterosexual sex, and is largely linked to sex work. Indeed, according to selected surveys, more than half of sex workers have become infected with HIV. Heterosexual transmission accounts for approximately 85% of the HIV infections in the country. The remaining 15% is accounted to other routes such as blood transfusion and injecting drug use. Young people in India are among those most vulnerable to HIV. Over 35% of all reported HIV/AIDS cases in India, occur among young people in the age group of 15 to 24 years.

HI V/AIDS surveillance

The number of HIV infections in India is difficult to determine. The country has no national information system to collect HIV testing information from the private sector, which provides 80% of health care in the country. Although HIV/AIDS is still largely concentrated in at-risk populations, the surveillance data suggests that the epidemic is moving beyond these groups in some regions and into the general population. It is also moving from urban to rural districts. The epidemic continues to shift towards women and young people. It has been estimated that 39% of adults living with HIV/AIDS in India as of the end of 2002 were women. In 2004, it was estimated that 22% of HIV cases in India were homemakers with a single partner. The increasing HIV prevalence among women can consequently be seen in the increase of-mother to child transmission.

Since 1998, the Government has been conducting an annual nationwide sentinel surveillance to assess the spread and prevalence of HIV in the country. The number of sentinel sites has gone up from 184 in 1998 to 455 in 2003. The annual sentinel surveillance surveys from 1998 to 2002 have divided States and Union territories in India into three broad categories:

• High prevalence: Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Nagaland States which have HIV prevalence rates exceeding 5% among groups with high-risk behaviour and 1% among women attending antenatal clinics in public hospitals.
• Concentrated epidemics: Gujarat, Pondicherry and Goa where the HIV prevalence rate among populations with high-risk behaviour has been found to be 5% or more but HIV prevalence rates remains below 1% among women attending ante-natal clinics.
• Low prevalence: All other States and Union Territories fall into the low prevalence category because HIV prevalence rates among vulnerable population is below 5 per cent and less than 1% among women attending antenatal clinics.

National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO)

 In India, the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) carries out the country’s National AIDS Programme, which includes formulation of policy and implementation of prevention and control programmes. State AIDS Control Societies: For the implementation and management of HIV/AIDS programmes in states, State AIDS Cells were created in 32 States and UTs of the country. Ministry of Human Resource Development (Dept. of Youth & Sports) involved in implementation of “Universities Talk AIDS” Programme of the National Service Scheme covering 158 universities, 5000 colleges and 2000 senior secondary schools.

• National Council of Education Research & Training (NCERT) involved in development of schooLcurriculum package for integration of HIV/AIDS into school education.
• Nehru Yuvak Kendra (NYK) involved in the implementation of non-formal educational approaches and rural outreach programmes on H1V/AIDS through its national volunteer network in communities in the country.

• The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has been of assistance through its Directorate of Audiovisual Publicity (DAVP), the Song & Drama Division, All India Radio and Doordarshan (national television service) in providing time and forums for the dissemination of public service programming and messages on HIV/AIDS prevention and care.

The Way out A combination of strategies, backed up with adequate resources is required for stemming the spread of AIDS. Groups to be targeted are:

• High Risk Group — sex workers., migrants, truck drivers etc. for this group prevention of sexual transmission essentially means education on safer sex, promotion of condom, and treatment for STD.
• Young People: Both in and out of school need comprehensive education on reproductive health issue.
• Women: women are biologically more susceptible to AIDS. Social factors often add to the risk.

1. Providing Information: Informing people about the steps they can take to protect themselves against HIV infection is central to any strategy for combating AIDS.
2. Encouraging Condom Use: Condom use is effective in slowing the spread of both HIV and STDs and need to be encouraged in all risky sexual encounters.
3. Reducing Blood borne transfusion: This accounts for less than 5% of HIV transmission worldwide.
4. Integrating AIDS prevention and STD services
5. Testing and Screening — voluntary HIV testing provides individual with useful information about themselves and their parents.

6. Surveillance: Public health surveillance for HIV is critical in areas where extensive spread of the virus has not yet occurred.

Conclusion

In order to curb AIDS, it is necessary to practise safe sex, take blood safety precaution and use only sterile needle, syringe and skin piercing instruments. A comprehensive strategy for prevention and control is the need of the hour. Healthy people, that too young people, are asset to the nation. The cheapest way of keeping people in good health is health education and health promotion. ‘It is we, the YOUTH who can change our tomorrow and build our world.’

The empowerment of young people is everybody’s business and involves the concerted efforts of a number of key stakeholders, including governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the media, educational and other intuitions, the private sector, family, kinship and community networks, youth peer groups and, above all, young people themselves. Youth empowerment is based on the belief that young people are themselves the best resource for promoting their development and that they must be both architects and agents in meeting the challenges and solving the problem faced in today’s world.