Sunday, December 5, 2010

WORLD AIDS DAY

We would like to bring to your attention the article "After the Quake: Looming AIDS Crisis in Haiti" by award-winning journalist Lisa Armstrong.  After the improvements that Haiti has made in controlling the spread of AIDS in the past years, it is devastating to know that after the earthquake, homes and buildings will not be the only things in need of reconstruction.
The article takes a look at the growing AIDS crisis in Haiti as a result of the devastating effects of the earthquake. Haiti used to be a model for combating AIDS. Before the earthquake, experts thought the epidemic might wipe out a third of the population. But instead Haiti became a surprising success story: With significant financial support from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief as well as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria prevalence rates fell from 9.4 percent in 1993 to 2.2 percent in 2008. January's earthquake, however, destroyed many health facilities, and experts fear that with the high rates of rape, prostitution, and promiscuity in the camps, there will be an explosive increase in the number of new HIV infections.

No comments:

Post a Comment