Sexual Education Should Begin at Home to Prevent AIDS

AIDS is one of the most serious, deadly diseases in human history. We lived in dangerous time today. More than 25 years ago, doctors in the United States identified the first cases of AIDS in San Francisco and New York. Now there are an estimated about 50 million people living with HIV or AIDS in worldwide and more than 3 million die every year from AIDS-related illnesses.

AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV destroys a type of defense cell in the body called a CD4 helper lymphocyte (pronounced: lim-fuh-site). These lymphocytes are part of the body's immune system, the defense system that fights infectious diseases. But as HIV destroys these lymphocytes, people with the virus begin to get serious infections that they normally wouldn't — that is, they become immune deficient. The name for this condition is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Though we have come a long way, we now have to grapple with risk of invisible death. Diseases of infinite titles have rocked our civilization, and it always seems to be getting worse than ever. Scientists work hard to try and discover better treatment and cures, but we never seem to catch up. As the medical community learns more about how HIV works, they've been able to develop drugs to inhibit it (meaning they interfere with its growth). These drugs have been successful in slowing the progress of the disease, and people with the disease now live much longer. But there is still no cure for HIV and AIDS.

This deadly virus attacks the body in the form of HIV, but as time progresses, it eventually develops into the AIDS. All human beings must acquire HIV information in some way or another and understand the symptoms of hiv in order to better prevent this epidemic from spreading. HIV is transmitted through various means such as unprotected sex, mother to child during pregnancy, intravenous drug use, and breast feeding. These are common methods to get infected with HIV. As most already know, sex is the most common form of infection. Too many ignorant people of all ages participate in unprotected sex casually. This is just strange as considering how easy it is to put on a condom in the first place.

The virus is spread through high-risk behaviors including: unprotected oral, vaginal, or anal sexual intercourse, sharing needles (IDUs), such as sharing needles two or more drug user (IDUs) used to inject drugs. People who have another sexually transmitted disease, such as syphilis, genital herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea are at greater risk for getting HIV during sex with infected partners. If a woman with HIV is pregnant, her newborn baby can catch the virus from her before birth, during the birthing process, or from breastfeeding.

According to AIDS researcher Mohammad Khairul Alam, “It should be realized that there is no alternative to develop and enhance life skills of vulnerable girls and women to cope with epidemic. They may be assisted on the various levels to become engaged in grooming their confidence and organized. At the same time, their voices should be allowed to be heard loud and clear. Thus the collective effort of women is born with the sense or purpose that they will be stirred up to share perceptions improving their access to reproductive health related information and services.”

Severe symptoms of HIV infection and AIDS may not appear for 10 years. And for years leading up to that, a person may not have symptoms of AIDS. The amount of time it takes for symptoms of AIDS to appear varies from person to person. Some people may feel and look healthy for years while they are infected with HIV. It is still possible to infect others with HIV, even if the person with the virus has absolutely no symptoms.

As per the findings of a recent research entitled ‘Role of Poverty Reduction to Reduce Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh’ initiated by Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallayan Foundation, “To track how epidemic often widens when vulnerability deepens, gender mainstreaming in poverty reduction strategies has to integrate multi-disciplinary approach specially focusing on good governance and gender equality through promoting participatory resource planning and internalizing HIV/AIDS prevention into overall development initiatives. Poverty is closely associated with illiteracy and women’s so called participation in development programs. As a result, vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is fueled promoted by gender discrimination and power imbalances between male and female.”