This Saturday is World AIDS Day. This year’s theme is leadership. I found myself asking, how am I leading people in the fight against AIDS? How are our people leading others in the fight against AIDS?
I believe that education is the first and foremost issue in battling this epidemic. If we cannot talk openly about sex and the oppressive cultural practices, how can we fight this epidemic that’s killing off millions and orphaning millions of children every day?
One of the focuses this year is on preventing mothers-to-child transmission (PMTCT).
6 in 10 babies will develop HIV/AIDS after birth.
3 in 10 babies will develop HIV/AIDS if the mother was taking ARV medication during pregnancy.
1 in 10 babies will develop HIV/AIDS if the mother was taking ARV medication during pregnancy and stops breastfeeding after 6 months. But the most daunting issue that scares mothers is that HIV-positive mothers are encouraged to stop breastfeeding their babies after 6 months… in a place where mothers usually breastfeed their babies until they stop weaning at around 2 years old.
Here’s a picture of an HIV-positive mother with her child. I don’t know if the child is HIV-positive; I wasn’t sure if I had the right to ask her.
I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. It seems as if this information would be of more significance when told to Malawians than to the rest of the world. But I guess a part of me is tired of living in ignorance. I once lived in ignorance and I don’t want the rest of the world to continue living in that same shadow of ignorance. I know it’s so easy for us to get caught up in all the trivial issues of our lives, like what colored A&F shirt should I wear today? Or why doesn’t that person like me? Why can’t I pay my bills with my six-figure job? Sometimes we forget that there’s a tiny little virus that’s killing millions off by the minute. And at the moment, there is no cure. Even the treatments can only temporarily inhibit the virus from destroying our immune system, yet if we missed one treatment, the medication is no longer effective and our bodies will start breaking down. But the reality is that there’s no cure. People can only fight for their lives if they haven’t given up on themselves already. I’ll spare you the details of how HIV/AIDS can slowly take one’s life. But I guess my take for today is this: get educated and get involved. Don’t let yourself fall into this bubble of ignorance and selfishness. Ask yourself, if you had HIV/AIDS, what would your life be like? If your husband cheated on you and now your baby has HIV, what would you do? What’s more important to you – the $40 shirt or the $40 education fee for an orphan? What’s at the forefront of your mind – how to get more people to like you or how to give more people better opportunities to live? What do your actions reflect – empowering yourself so that only you can advance in life or empowering others to make good decisions and actions so that they too can pay it forward? What it comes down to is this... what is at the core of your heart?
