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Youth and AIDS in the 21st CenturyRemarks by Leif
Mitchell, Community Coordinator Thank you, Carla and Dominick. Welcome to New Haven's 13th Annual World AIDS Day Memorial Vigil. The US theme for World AIDS Day 2001 is I Care…Do You? Youth and AIDS in the 21st Century emphasizing that every individual has an opportunity and a responsibility to make a constructive contribution to the prevention of HIV/AIDS. The goal of World AIDS Day 2001 is to underscore that youth are significantly infected and affected by HIV and to call for greater education and involvement of young people in diagnosing, treating and preventing HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS prevention and protection programs geared toward youth are needed now more than ever, as evidenced by these worldwide statistics: · Young people under age 25 represent half of all new HIV infection cases. · Ten million young people ages 15-24 are living with HIV/AIDS. · Every minute five young people are infected with HIV.
These numbers are alarming not only because of their magnitude, but also because adequate information about HIV/AIDS has not fully reached youth around the world, including young people in the United States, Connecticut and New Haven. Many young people with HIV today might not have become infected if they had learned more about the dangers of engaging in high-risk behaviors. As of 2000, 25% of teens surveyed in the US falsely believe that HIV testing was standard in routine exams, whereas fewer than 1/3 of sexually active teens in the US have been tested for HIV.
Today, although HIV has permeated every corner of the country, affecting men, women and children of all ages, races and ethnicities, AND demographic categories, there are troubling signs that HIV may be started to expand, once again, among men who have sex with men (MSM). · In the United States young MSM are becoming infected at a startling pace, with evidence indicating that in some US cities one in 14 is infected by age 22. · Young African American MSM are particularly hard hit, with rates of new HIV infections in some cities as high as those now seen in South Africa. · Young Latino MSM are also heavily affected, with AIDS incidence rates 2.5 times higher than white MSM. These signs make it clear that out country is at a critical point in the HIV epidemic, and there can be no turning back. We need to address the impact of racism, sexism, homophobia, and all other inequities that affect our youth. Until we do that, there will be no moving forward.
As we recognize World AIDS Day 2001, governments, the media and health organizations in the U.S. and around the globe are understandably focused on the recent terrorist attacks and immediate threats to public health and safety. As a result, our response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic--entering its third decade--is more uncertain than ever. What resources are available to fight this disease and inform the public--from government funds for research and treatment, to state health budgets, to airtime and column inches for stories about HIV/AIDS--will be affected both by the economic downturn already underway and by major shifts in news and public health priorities since September 11th. Youth were disproportionately being affected by HIV on September 10th, and this didn't change on September 11th. In fact, some studies in New York City have suggested that young people have engaged in more high risk behaviors since the terrorist attacks.
Today, think about the youth that you know--your friends and your family. And find ways to talk with them about HIV because change begins from the heart. ### |
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