Doellman-AIDS blog
African American AIDS statistics
The first blog I found stated a simple fact: If African Americans were one country, they would have a higher infection rate for HIV/AIDS than some of the African nation counterparts. Pretty heavy statistic to swallow. One in every eight Americans is African American, but one in every two people with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. is African American. I know this blog was supposed to be about AIDS in Africa or Asia, but the fact that this statistic represents what is happening in America was absolutely shocking and saddening to me.
Another blog concerns FACE AIDS, a California-based student run campaign to fight AIDS. The organization focuses on a trip three members took to a refugee camp in Zambia, where few people were openly known to have AIDS and regular testing for the virus was almost obsolete. I think this is the biggest problem in terms of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. There is so little knowledge, resources and open communication about the virus. From reading Michael McColly's book, it seems like everyone wants to keep the issue at bay, which only makes it worse.
The last blog I found was about a new program in South Africa that would sent text messages via cell phone. I think in this technological age, this is a great idea. Now if only I could get reminders on homework assignments, stories, dentist appointments and credit card payments on my phone, my life would be a lot easier.
