World AIDS Day: Know the Facts – Be Safe – Get Tested

Our world has been battling HIV/AIDs for more than 25 years.  There are an estimated 33 million people living with HIV, and approximately 7,400 new people being infected everyday.  And while those in extreme poverty seem to be effected the most severely, the U.S. national HIV incidence (new infections) is much higher than estimated, especially for African Americans and Hispanics.

Here are some troubling HIV facts from the CDC:

• HIV incidence has been increasing steadily among gay and bisexual men since the early 1990s, confirming a trend suggested by other data showing increases in risky behavior.
• In 2006, the rate of new infections among non-Hispanic African Americans was 7 times the rate among whites.
• The rate of new HIV infections among Hispanics in 2006 was 3 times the rate among whites.

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What does this all mean? Bottom line, more people need to:

1. Know the facts! HIV is transmitted in 3 main ways: 1) Having sex (anal, vaginal, or oral) with someone infected with HIV, 2) Sharing needles and syringes with someone infected with HIV, and 3) Being exposed (fetus or infant) to HIV before or during birth or through breast feeding.  You cannot become infected from a toilet seat, drinking fountain, doorknob, dishes, drinking glasses, food, or pets. You also cannot get HIV from mosquitoes.
2. Be safe! Now you know how HIV is transmitted, so be smart and safe – avoid risky behaviors. Abstain from sex (do not have oral, anal, or vaginal sex) until you are in a relationship with only one person, are having sex with only each other, and each of you knows the other’s HIV status. If you have, or plan to have, more than one sex partner, talk about HIV and other STDs with each partner before you have sex and use a latex condom and lubricant every time you have sex. Do not inject illicit drugs (drugs not prescribed by your doctor) and do not have sex when you are taking drugs or drinking alcohol because being high can make you more likely to take risks.
3. Get tested! You should know your HIV status if you have EVER engaged in any of the risky behaviors in the past – even if it was only one time. To find an HIV testing site near you (in the U.S.), send a text message with your ZIP code to “KNOWIT” (566948) or visit: www.HIVtest.org.  Even if you think you have low risk for HIV infection, get tested whenever you have a regular medical check-up.

Here are some other great HIV/AIDS resources:

• AIDS.gov
• Learn the link between HIV and drugs
• HIV/AIDs in the US
• HIV A to Z by the CDC
• ONE and World AIDS Day
• Metro Teen AIDS
• AIDS.gov Podcasts
• Follow AIDS.gov on Twitter

My Top 3 FREE Ways You Can Help End Poverty

The state of the Global economy has been at the forefront of most of our minds over the last several weeks. Those of us who live in the United States have been watching the nightly news in horror as we see stocks plummet, banks collapse, government fail, and the domino effect roll out across the world. I think it’s important during times like this that we strive to keep things in perspective.

Yes, the United States economy is in crisis and things are bad right now. But did you know that according to the United Nations one person dies of hunger or hunger-related causes every three and a half seconds? And sadly enough it’s children that die most often. Sobering thought isn’t it? There is more than enough food in the world for everyone, so why does this happen? Poverty.com answers this question best:

The problem is that hungry people are trapped in severe poverty. They lack the money to buy enough food to nourish themselves. Being constantly malnourished, they become weaker and often sick. This makes them increasingly less able to work, which then makes them even poorer and hungrier. This downward spiral often continues until death for them and their families.

Today is Blog Action Day 2008 and the issue we are raising awareness about is poverty. Given the current state of the U.S. economy and the financial situations of many people I know and love, I thought I’d blog about some free ways that we can all help.  So, don’t use the fact that your bank account balance is lower than normal stop you from helping out – Get Involved! Here’s how:

1. Join ONE and get involved. One.org is an awesome website that is dedicated to uniting Americans as ONE to put an end to poverty.  They are, “a campaign of over 2.4 million people and growing from all 50 states and over 100 of America’s most well-known and respected non-profit, advocacy and humanitarian organizations.” As ONE they are raising public awareness about the issues of global poverty, hunger, and disease.  You can join the movement at no cost and then perform simple but important actions like writing your congressman or congresswoman, volunteer your time, or rock some very cool ONE gear to help spread the word.
2. Click on “The Hunger Site” to give free food. The Hunger Site is an website that allows you to click on a button every day and give free food. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.  You click the button and their website sponsors pay for cups of food.  And if you want to give more, they even have a store you can make purchases from where all proceeds go to charity.  Oh and while you’re there, be sure to click on the tabs at the top of the website.  There are other sister sites just like this one, except they’re dedicated to other very worthy causes like breast cancer and literacy where your clicks will translate to free mammograms or free books. How cool is that?
3. Test and expand your vocabulary while you end hunger. FreeRice.com is a fun website that lets you quiz your vocabulary for a very worthy cause.  For every right answer, the UN World Food Program will donate 20 grains of rice. It’s so much fun and it feels great knowing that just by playing a game you’re helping make a real difference. And if you’re thinking that 20 grains of rice seems like a small amount, just remember that while you’re playing, so are thousands of other people at the same time. It’s everyone together that makes the difference, so why not share the site with your friends and family and amplify your efforts? 

Click Here to Check Out More Blog Action Day 2008 Posts!

New Global Epiphany Design!

Check out the Global Epiphany site design! I finally got a premium Wordpress theme worthy of this site… now if I could just get it together and stop being such a neglectful blogger. I’m working on it – I swear

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