In My Opinion
With Sandra Pianin

When no other opinion matters.

Sandra Pianin is a freelance writer who lives in Queens, New York. Her work has appeared on many online sites with subjects from gardening to politics. In the past, she has been a reviewer for the High Definition Film Festival, the author of a Hollywood business column for www.matchflick.com and a web pundit for www.webpundit.net.

EDITORIAL OF THE WEEK

World Aids Day 
 

December 1 is celebrated all over the planet Earth as World Aids Day. Some public health experts say that circumcision, microbicides and microfinance are all promising options in the fight against HIV; however, universal access to antiretroviral drugs is having an opposite effect. They are sidelining prevention. Since a cure is not on the horizon, preventing HIV infection is most important. Courageous Americans living with HIV (a condition that was once uniformly fatal) are living longer. The Federal Government provides more than $17 billion each year to help people living with HIV/AIDS. Some people ill with the virus have now lived 15 years or more due to domestic medical treatment and prevention efforts in the United States. Although HIV/AIDS has become more of a long term illness like diabetes or heart disease, public health response to the virus must still be on alert because HIV/AIDS spreads quickly. Surprisingly, there is little information is available about how HIV infection is acquired. Dr. Jim Yong Kim, an HIV/AIDS expert at Babies' and Women's Hospital and Harvard University has said that all governments need to be held accountable for their choices. Dr. Kim supports a system of "prevention scores", which would acknowledge how governments allocate funds for HIV/AIDS. Dr. Kim has also said he feels that HIV public health experts spend too much time in meetings and not enough time combating the pandemic. The World Health Organization's ambitious "3 x 5 strategy", an attempt to put 3 million people on antiretroviral drugs by the year 2005 did capture world attention, but, much of the momentum dissipated after the campaign ended. Dependable and creative strategies alike are needed to keep the focus on HIV prevention and cure. How can each one of us make a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS? Among the myriad ways each one of us can contribute to the war against HIV are three simple actions: get tested, help to destigmatize HIV, and lend a hand to someone with the virus. During this 2006 holiday season, it makes you feel good to be proactive and not reactive! ~*~Sandra Pianin ~*~

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