Introduction
Human Immunodeiciency virus also known as HIV is a lentrivirus that causes HIV infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndome (AIDS). AIDS is a condition in humans in which progessive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive. Without treatment, average survival time after infection with HIV is estimated to be 9-11 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng22Ucr33aw
It is widely believed that HIV originiated in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo around 1920 when it crossed species from chimpanzees to humans.
The current epidemic started in the mid- to late 1970's. By 1980, HIV had already spread to five continents and between 100,000-300,000 had already been afftected.
Task
Most of you know the name Magic Johnson: a retired professional basketball player who played for the LA Lakers for his whole career. (13 seasons) He was an oustanding player at all levels, he won championships in high school and college which lead him to be the first overall draft pick in the 1979 NBA draft. In his first season in the NBA he helped his team win an NBA championship and was named NBA Finals MVP.
His career achievements were amazing. He won three MVP awards, he appeared in nine NBA finals, twleve All-Star games, and ten All-NBA first and second team nominations. He was a stat leader in many different categories many different times. He is only one of seven players in history to win an NCAA Championship, an NBA Championship, and an Olympic Gold Medal. In 2007, ESPN rated the greatest NBA point guard of all time.
Process
After a routine physical before the start of the 91-92 basketball season, Johnson had tested positive for HIV. In 1991, Johnson scheduled a press conference; he made a public announcement that he would retire immediatey. He let the world know that his wife and unborn child did not have HIV and he would dedicate his life to "battle this deadly disease". Most people associated HIV only with homosexual men and he denied those accusations. He told reporters he did not know how he conracted the disease but it later came out that he admited to having many sexual partners during his playing career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSfy4AhDDnw
This announcement became major news in US history and most people praised him for being honest and a lot of people believed that he was a hero for coming forward. He could be a face for this terrible disease. He had many opportunities to inspire HIV-postive people.
Later in life, during his retirement he has written a book, worked for NBC as a basketball commentator and toured around the world with different basketball teams of college and NBA players. He now works for ESPN, owns part of the Los Angeles Dodgers and also a minor league team named Dayton Dragons.
He helped to educate people on understanding that it ws not only homoosexual people that were at risk for this disease. He wanted to help educate all people about what HIV is all about and to teach other people not to discriminated against people who have HIV and AIDS.
https://www.aids.gov/news-and-events/awareness-days/youth/
Evaluation
What can be done today to stop HIV and AIDS?
The biggest problem with this disease today is the fact that only 37% of the people who are HIV positive are currently getting treatment. Millions of pople do not have accress to medication to this disease.
In 2005, at the UN World Summit in New York, world leaders pledged to reach universial access to prevention, care, and treatment by 2010. This goal was missed, and even though the leaders recommitted to the fight againts AIDS in 2011 toward achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support by 2015--these goals are still far from being achieved.
Do we need more education?
The world ahs made incredibal progress in efforts to understand, prevent, and treat this disease, particularly in the last ten years. It is necessary to speed up the prevention efforts by using existing and new tools mroe efficiently. Resources for HIV/Aids continue to grow and glocal funding has reached a historic high with 19.1 billion in 2013.
http://www.factlv.org/education.htm
Can people live with this disease?
ABSOLUTELY. Modern medicine is an amazing thing. People need to remember that on the outside nothing may look wrong but this can be a painful disease. People also need to remember that victims of HIV/AIDS are people too and not to disciminate against them for any reason--especially when you may or may not know how it was contracted.
Conclusion
In more than three decades since HIV/AIDS was first discovered, the disease has taken the lives of more than 39 people around the world. In 2013 alone, HIV/AIDS killed 1.5 million people, 1.1 million who lived in Africa. PEOPLE NEED TREATMENT in areas that are not getting it now.
17.7 million children around the world have already lost at least one parent to this disease.
HIV is increasingly concentrated among vulnerable populations--including men who have sex with men, sex workers, drug users who inject drugs, and new borns whose parents have contracted hte disease.