HIV/AIDS
Wednesday 3 September 2008
Do you know what HIV and AIDS is? n2k runs down everything you need to know.
What is HIV?
HIV is a virus that affects the immune system. The immune system usually controls ‘good’ germs. When someone contracts HIV their immune system is weakened, letting the virus replicate and damage bodily cells.
It can be passed on through blood to blood and sexual contact, and from mother to child.
What is AIDS?
AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
When your immune system becomes severly damaged, HIV develops into AIDS. The time it takes for HIV to become AIDS depends on many factors.
There is no cure for it but there are drugs that can slow down the HIV virus, and slow down the damage to your immune system.
International AIDS conference
Last month, young people were the centre of attention at the 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico.
This was the first conference where the focus was placed on children who have AIDS, as it is believed that not enough is being done to treat them.
The main goals of the conference were to inspire the youth to:-
- Support the campaign and the people who run it.
- Promote and encourage youth involvement throughout the conference, in the media it creates and in other AIDS events around the world.
- Commit themselves to AIDS campaigns in their own country and internationally to prevent it from affecting youth in the future.
In 2005 UNICEF launched Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS. Watch UNICEFs footage of this year’s conference!
The conference
Sophie, 16, is a member of UNICEF’s youth groups and attended the conference in Mexico. “During the first three days of our visit, we attended the Youth Pre-conference, where the message of ‘Rights, Respect, Responsibility,’ blazed at us,” she comments.
The conference isn’t held just to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS, it also reminds people that they have to be treated fairly too. “It has revealed to us how easily we can forget that human rights are for everyone,” adds Sophie.
Sophie also admits that her time at the conference shaped her views of sexually transmitted diseases, “We’ve found it empowering to talk about comprehensive sex education as a right.”
You can read Sophie’s full article here.
Facts
By 2007:-
- There were over 2 million HIV cases reported worldwide.
- 8,161 children in the UK contracted HIV from their mothers.
- 15 million children under 18 have lost one or both of their parents to AIDS.
- There were 14,000 newly infected HIV or AIDS sufferers in South-east Asia.
- 140,000 children (under 15) and adults were newly infected in Latin America.
- One in seven of the 2 million people that died last year of HIV or AIDS were under 15.
- 370,000 youth were newly infected with HIV and 90% of them lived in Africa.
Taking a test
If you have had unprotected sex it's worthwile to take a test.
Your local clinic will usually take a blood or urine sample and results can take a week or longer to arrive.
For more information, contact The National AIDS Helpline on 0800 567 123 or NHS Direct.
