October is AIDS Awareness Month

Designed to raise awareness about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS, the designation of October as AIDS Awareness Month places special focus on a disease with a yet undiscovered cure.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS is a late stage of the Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV). Without a cure as of yet, hHealthy living, and anti-viral medications can do much to improve the quality and length of life for some AIDS patients. These treatments do not always work for everyone, however, and can have harmful side effects.

In the early 1980s, the disease became rampant and it became clear that it was highly communicative. However, as it was a fairly undocumented disease, public education was poor and many had never heard of it before they were diagnosed with it. The impact of the epidemic is excessively high among ethnic minorities, particularly African-Americans, suggesting that more awareness on how to prevent the disease was necessary. AIDS is entirely preventable through abstinence, safe sex and by not sharing or reusing intravenous needles.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan declared October to be National AIDS Awareness Month in an attempt to help educate the American public and prevent the spread of AIDS and HIV. Since then the effort to raise awareness has increased greatly. Although October is still officially National AIDS awareness month, different states and heavily affected minority groups have staged their own AIDS awareness months and days for extra coverage of the disease. Aside from basic education, AIDS awareness month is host to a number of charity drives and walk-a-thons, intended to raise money for AIDS research. In the years since President Reagan made AIDS awareness national, the number of people contracting the disease has gone down drastically.

AIDS has even impacted humanity on a global scale. December 1 has been designated as World AIDS awareness day in an effort to link countries together to increase education and eradicate this fatal disease. Scientists feel confident that there is a cure for AIDS out there, and although it has not been discovered yet, it is a high priority to continue to fund the research that will help wipe out AIDS forever. By continuing to promote AIDS awareness and keep AIDS issues in the forefront during various AIDS awareness events, the global community can continue to work together to combat the disease and its effects.