World must confront a true pandemic

While the United States has been focused on the swine flu, a real pandemic continues to spread around the world.

While swine flu may eventually kill thousands, HIV/AIDS will kill millions — its current death rate is more than 2 million a year worldwide.

Why is it taking so long to find a cure or curb to the growth of HIV/AIDS cases? Some people still believe there is a simple answer. After all, the only people who get HIV/AIDS are people involved in activities that make them vulnerable, and therefore they can avoid getting the disease.

This is simply not true.

The vast majority of new HIV cases are in Sub-Saharan Africa, and most of the new cases and deaths are among people who had no choice about the activity that caused them to be infected. Rape, a trigger illness and absence of medical attention, lack of education, poverty and inheritance at birth due to the lack of pre- and post-natal care are the prime movers of this disease, not indiscriminate sexual behavior or drug use.

In addition to the stigma of being rejected by the world in general, a child with AIDS or without parents due to AIDS is destined to transfer the disease that robs them of their life. In too many cases, an infection due to malnutrition, tuberculosis or malaria is the ticket for the jump to HIV/AIDS. Even with the vast amounts of money poured into treatments for those problems, the root causes of the disease still exist.

To stop pandemics from starting, a concerted effort needs to be put into providing education, medical care and nourishment on a global basis. Accepting human nature as the only basis for infection, poverty, malnutrition and ignorance will only continue to waste human lives.

As part of the Snohomish County RESULTS group (www.results.org), I try to stay aware and involved with the world around me. I attempt to make my voice heard because on trips to the third world (mainly Haiti) I have seen the results of the inability of the world community to focus on real change. Just recognizing the true cause can resolve so many of the problems associated with closing our eyes.

All of us are probably closer than we think to people living with the effects and prejudices of diseases that they had no say in contracting. They go about their silent, secluded lives just trying to make it from one day to the next. Come out on Tuesday, in recognition of World AIDS Day, and walk and pray with us as we show our support for the process and support of programs aimed at ending this “real” pandemic.



Larry Bailly is a member of the Snohomish County RESULTS group and Snohomish Community Church. He travels each year to Haiti, where he is involved with construction projects and medical care. Contact him at baillybusbarn@juno.com.