Today, the first of December, World Aids Day, we face again one of the biggest global problems. Twenty-five years since HIV/AIDS was identified, nearly 40 million people are living with the virus and every year the number of infected people rises.
1. Penetration always with condom.
2. No sperm or blood in mouth.
In Nepal 19% of all HIV infected persons are housewives. India has, according the United Nations, the highest infection rate worldwide. Zimbabwe now has the lowest life expectancy in the world - 34 years for women and 37 for men - according to the World Health Organisation. Between 2005 and 2006, Zimbabwean women's life expectancy dropped by two years. Specialists dealing with HIV/AIDS in the Middle East have said their work has been hampered by a lack of reliable statistics.
But at the same time there great achievements have been made. Like the online dating service for HIV-positive people (The Positive Connection) in South Africa. Hundreds of Indians demonstrated today to demand new anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs. China's promotion of voluntary HIV counseling and testing.
Now, more than ever, we have to fight against the spreading virus and help those who are infected to live respectable lives.
New infections: 11,200 per day (UNAIDS 2006)
Annual Deaths: 2.9 million in 2005, (UNAIDS/WHO 2006)
Total deaths: 25 million since 1981 (UNAIDS 2006)
Total infections: 65 million since 1981 (UNAIDS 2006)
Country with highest infection rate: 33.1 percent in Swaziland (UNAIDS 2006)
Country with largest number of infections: 5.2 million in India (UNAIDS 2006)
Percentage of those who need ARV treatment and are receiving it: 20 percent (WHO 2006)