Tilted World » AIDS

Everyday is World AIDS Day

pagarmerah — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:18:08 +0000

So when in comes to HIV/AIDS, there are two important dates. first, theres AIDS Memorial Day which falls on May 15th every year. on AIDS Memorial Day, we usually have a candle light vigil to remember those whom have passed due to AIDS. here in Malaysia, people usually organize faith based events (besides the vigil) to remember and pray for friends and family who have passed. to bless their souls. and second, you have World AIDS Day which as many of you might already know falls on Dec 1st every year. unlike AIDS Memorial Day, World AIDS Day is actually to disseminate information and organize events to spread the message on HIV/AIDS in hopes that one day we will be able to stop/minimize/control the spread of HIV. and each year, the UN will come up with a theme e.g. STOP AIDS, KEEP THE PROMISE and LEADERSHIP.

anyways, just three days ago we celebrated World AIDS Day. this year was very special because some friends participated in an event organized by the Malaysian AIDS Council. Hana and Nunu among others cycled approximately 30km around the Golden Triangle to show their support for the cause. i have to say, it was pretty amazing cause they barely had any sleep the previous night and they had to wake up at 5ish in the morning to get ready for the event. so yeah, it was really nice.

as of the end of 2007, 33 million people have been reported to be living with HIV in the world and in here in Malaysia there are about 82 thousand people living with HIV as of June 2008. if you must know, by the standards of UN, for every case which is reported, there are four or five more out there which are not reported. which means, the total figure has to be multiplied by 4 or 5. it does make a lot of sense because a) there are no symptoms to tell you that you have HIV; you can only tell if you go for a HIV test and b) the numbers that we have right now are reflection of mandatory testings. so we do not actually know how many people are really infected. so you can say that it is pretty worrying and yeah, it is a pandemic. multiply those numbers by 4 or 5 and you’ll know what i mean.

so there are only three main ways that you can get HIV:

1. unprotected penetrative sex with an infected partner

2. sharing of needles, syringes, or any injecting equipment

3. from mother to child - during pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding

and HIV has high concentration only in these fluids:

1. blood

2. sperm

3. vaginal fluid

4. breast milk

so only these fluids can transmit HIV. not saliva, tears, urine, or whatever.

with so many people infected with HIV all around the world and knowing that half of them are womyn, one day is not enough to spread messages on HIV/AIDS. and also please bear in mind that the number of womyn getting infected with HIV is also on the rise here in Malaysia. so again, one day is just not enough

and knowing the facts and figures are not enough. you have to walk the talk. so please put on a condom whenever you wanna have sex. everytime. and dont share needles or syringes or any injecting equipments. be it when you are shooting up, getting a tattoo, getting an injection, or donating blood. clean equipments.

if you want free condom, please drop by to our place or you can always get them at MAC (not the make up place) or PT Foundation.

Think Again | Stop AIDS

ana_a — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:45:46 +0000

By Legolas. You can view his blog at http://legolas80.blogspot.com/

HIV is on the rise, not only in the US, the UK, but also Malaysia. The doctors from hospitals knew, the anonymous screening at Pink Triangle Foundation shows, those people with HIV can tell. There is no statistics recorded with real numbers and cold evidence because the government couldn’t care less. They don’t recognize the problem’s source because they keep their eyes shut to homosexuality, even if they knew we exist. They’re more interested in money, power and coming up with silly thoughts.

How many of us had unprotected sex before? How many times you think you can be lucky and get away with it? 5 times? 10 times? No, it takes only 1 time. 1 time of fun and then a lifetime of pain. You say you trusted your partner. How sure are you? You can only be 100% sure if you are with him 24/7. It doesn’t mean you don’t trust your partner when you want to have protection, it means you love yourself. And like they always say, you have to love yourself before you can love other people. If your partner left you because of that, he didn’t love you at all, and he’s definitely worthless.

Who is going to protect yourself better than your own self? Don’t be so ignorant about HIV because no matter how good the medication nowadays have advanced, there is still no cure to HIV, after 27 years since it was first discovered. Don’t engage in unprotected sex no matter how much you trust your sexual partner. Learn and understand about AIDS and HIV. Get yourself tested every 6 months, even if you didn’t have sex because there is a possibility you might get it from other ways.

Don’t put yourself and the people you love in danger. The next time you want to have unprotected sex, think again. It takes only 1 time. Treasure your life and love yourself more.

HIV on Wikipedia

The Not-so-bright Future

jiahuilee — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:49:07 +0000

- In the United States alone, HIV infections among gay men have risen 75% over the last 15 years (news report from CDC).

- Globally, men who have sex with men, or MSM (regardless of sexual orientation), are 19 times more likely to be infected with HIV compared to the general population.

- They are 18 times more likely to be infected with HIV compared to the general population in Asia alone.

- The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) studied 128 countries. 44% (nearly half) of them failed to provide any data whatsoever on MSM.

- 71% did not have any information on the percentage of MSM reached by HIV prevention program.

- These statistics include Malaysia.

(Source: “MSM, HIV, and the Road to Universal Access – How Far Have We Come?” August 2008, Special Report by the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR))

While initiatives pertaining HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness have made significant strides among high-risk communities such as with intravenous drug users and sex workers, there is a worrying noticeable trend among the men who have sex with men (MSM) community.

This has prompted WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, to call for governments to target the epidemic among MSM. According to the report released by amfAR, much of the failure to tackle the endemic in MSM communities can be attributed to a lack of leadership from both national governments and the institutions charged with leading the global response to HIV/AIDS.

The task is further hampered by the many social and cultural taboos, government and public prejudice, and media victimization on the community; these factors may be responsible for forcing many individuals of the community into underground and non-mainstream alternatives to continue their lifestyles, making prevention and outreach work increasingly difficult.

Tilted World, through its posts and work, should continue to bring such issues to the mainstream of society, albeit beginning with the online community. Misconceptions such as those found in several mainstream media publications, the criminalising of sodomy, and police raids on lgbt-related events should be addressed immediately, on and off-line.