HIV/AIDS - What's Going On And What You Can Do

I used to work at an HIV/AIDS nonprofit. I taught youth about ways to protect themselves and how to make healthy decisions. I also had the privilege of working with men and women who volunteered their time to talk openly about how they contracted HIV and how the choices the youth make will determine whether contract HIV/AIDS or not. Yes, I was the condom lady at the front of the room showing the class how to put them on correctly (pause for laughter). Since World AIDS Day was December 1st, what not a better time to talk about the state of worldwide HIV/AIDS and what you can do about it.

First a little background about HIV/AIDS today – HOWEVER, if statistics might make you skip this post and head for another blog about Britney's mishaps, skip over the next few bullets and keep on reading.

• Between 2001 and 2007, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS globally rose from 29 million to 33.2. million due to new infections, increase in lifespan of those living with HIV and general population growth.
• Between 2001 and 2007, annual deaths (from HIV/AIDS) increased from 1.7 million to 2.1 million, but have declined in the last couple of years due to antiretroviral treatments.
• HIV is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and the #1 cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Most people with HIV are unaware that they are infected.
• Teens and young adults (ages 15-24) account for about 40 percent of new HIV infections.

Not everyone has the time, or the inclination, to be the condom lady. However, what one person can do is donate to or support, in any way, an organization that takes a realistic approach to a cause of choice. The best approach an organization can take to fight a disease that is prevalent in extremely diverse cultural settings – such as HIV/AIDS – is to acknowledge that one sweeping solution will not work; it must be culturally specific. That is why I am highlighting a charity that I believe has a realistic approach to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Its program expenses are 87 percent while its administrative expenses are only 12 percent; for a nonprofit, those are some amazing statistics. The Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) is an "international, nonprofit organization that creates sustainable, culturally relevant solutions, enabling communities worldwide to break longstanding cycles of poor health." Their ideology focuses on three core principles: advancing technologies, strengthening health systems and encouraging healthy behaviors.

PATH has worked for the past two decades on a holistic and community-centered approach to HIV/AIDS. They are interested in uniting goals across boundaries. When one nation believes they have the solution to a worldwide issue – and imposes their cultural standards upon another, most of the time their "help" will be met with problems in other nations. PATH's work is about uniting goals and coming together to tackle the beast.

If you'd like to learn more or donate, please visit www.path.org. If not PATH, there are many other charitable HIV/AIDS organizations. For example, if you are interested in a more scientific approach, there are organizations that utilize biotechnology research to work on HIV/AIDS vaccines and medications. I must insist that before you open your purse or donate any sort of effort to a charity, make sure you find out where its donations go. The best website I've found for this is www.charitynavigator.org. This site tells you what organizations do with their money, and how they have progressed over the past few years. If you've made the decision to donate to a charity, make sure to search for HIV/AIDS and be sure to sort by rating – so that you can donate to four star charities – and know where your money is going!