Central Asia: Regional HIV/AIDS Conference Kicks Off - Youth Numbers Rising

Reuters reports: "Central Asia has witnessed a dramatic increase in infection rates over the past four years. Officially reported cases jumped from about 500 in 2000 to over 12,000 in 2004. But unreported cases are thought to be much larger; the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are some 90,000 people in Central Asia living with HIV/AIDS. The epidemic is driven by injecting drug use and is concentrated among young people." Do people see a pattern here? HIV/AIDS is spreading again. It's not just New York. It's not just the United States. It's not just Africa. It's everywhere. The lax view that AIDS is a thing of the past, a la Rock Hudson and ACT UP, is getting more and more young people infected. You here a lot about Bono in Africa which is great, but you don't hear a lot about young kids in the suburbs. You don't hear the influential people of today talking about the second wave of HIV/AIDS. The popular media that youth is ingesting like candy is inundated with Paris Hilton sex videos, rap music hedonism, highly sexualized ad campaigns geared to a younger and younger market, a superficial televison landscape of "reality", and an irresponsible government that is sending a message that condoms are not good, but offering no alternative to protecting ourselves except being a good Christian. And it's coming. If we don't start taking notice; if we don't start putting prevention strategies in place; and if we don't start educating our youth to use condoms, a tsunami will undoubtedly hit us. The other day my sister-in-law told me that in her college orientation the school administration told students that 83% of the student body has or will have an an STD in their college experience. This is shocking! You bet some of these students are contracting HIV and don't even know it. You bet they are spreading the virus around campus faster than a text message. Unfortunately, it will take a reckless star of today testing positive before young people wake up and realize they are a generation in danger. Everyday, the seeds of a new epidemic are being planted, while the gardner has sex without a condom. Remember, we reap what we sow. For full story click here