Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Summarizes Editorials, Opinion Pieces To Mark World AIDS Day
Several newspapers recently published editorials and opinion pieces on HIV/AIDS to mark World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, some of which are summarized below.
Editorials
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Anchorage Daily News: The HIV/AIDS pandemic is "massive and requires a massive response," and the United States should lead the world in providing funding for international programs, according to a Daily News editorial. In doing so, the United States should "invest what's needed" to help the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which has the "experience, local connections, facilities and proven programs" to "press on and expand its work" to effectively fight HIV/AIDS, the editorial says (Anchorage Daily News, 12/1).
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Bangkok Post: Although the number of new HIV cases are declining in Thailand, the number of new HIV infections among Thai youth is increasing and should serve as a "wake-up call" for people to "step up activities to stem and then reverse this worrying trend," a Post editorial says. The "lack of concern among the authorities is lamentable," but the "growing complacency among the general population" is more "disturbing," and attention needs to be refocused on the "continuing" and "deadly threat" of HIV/AIDS, the editorial says (Bangkok Post, 12/2).
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Billings Gazette: Although HIV/AIDS does not receive the "public attention it deserves," especially in the United States, "Americans must care" because the disease is "wiping out a generation of workers and parents, causing the survivors -- many of them orphan children -- to sink into poverty," according to a Gazette editorial. Education -- considered the "best vaccination" against HIV/AIDS -- and increased public awareness are needed to control the spread of the "killer virus," the editorial concludes (Billings Gazette, 12/1).
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Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: A "cure" for HIV/AIDS has been "elusive," so prevention and education efforts are the "best weapon in this fight," according to a Press & Sun-Bulletin editorial. However, public education and awareness has been "hampered" in some areas because of "cultural practices" that make it especially difficult for women to learn about the disease and properly protect themselves, the editorial says (Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, 12/1).
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Economic Times: A "change in tactics" in India may be needed because the reality of HIV/AIDS has not "sunk in" for many in the country, a Times editorial says. Producing a supportive, compassionate environment that allows HIV-positive people to be open about their disease -- in order to "change the mindset" of people by showing them the reality of the disease -- is the "key" to stopping the "spread of the disease," the editorial concludes (Economic Times, 12/2).
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Oregonian: "Americans can do better" in fighting HIV/AIDS and should adopt a "more positive and pragmatic strategy" instead of "avert[ing] their eyes" and maintaining a "safe distance" from the pandemic, an Oregonian editorial says. "It's time to stop thinking about HIV/AIDS as a continent away," the editorial concludes (Oregonian, 12/1).
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Portland Press Herald: Putting a stop to the HIV/AIDS pandemic will "take a global effort," but it also will require that issues are "understood at a local level and officials reach the individuals who are most at risk," a Press Herald editorial says. In Maine, men who have unprotected sex with men are at the greatest risk for contracting HIV, and education is needed for the "new generation" of young men who "aren't worried enough" about contracting HIV, the editorial says (Portland Press Herald, 12/1).
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San Antonio Express-News: Although global funding to fight HIV/AIDS has increased in recent years, "more must be done," an Express-News editorial says. Although the United States already has made "significant" contributions, it is in the nation's "best interest to continue stepping up the effort," the editorial concludes (San Antonio Express-News, 12/1).
- Wilmington News Journal: Most people in the United States picture an HIV-positive person as "white, affluent, male and homosexual," when the reality is that the "face of AIDS in America today is black, poor, female and heterosexual," a News Journal editorial says. Even though more research on HIV/AIDS treatments is needed, "don't expect major demand for funding" as long as the majority of HIV-positive people are "on the fringes of society," the editorial concludes (Wilmington News Journal, 12/1).
Opinion Pieces
- Nikki Kallio, Portland Press Herald: The world is "losing the fight against the advance" of HIV/AIDS, and a multi-pronged approach is needed to fight the disease, Kallio, a Press Herald editorial writer, writes in a Press Herald opinion piece. In addition to more prevention programs, condoms, antiretroviral drugs and vaccine research, an effective approach also must address gender equality, the stigma of HIV/AIDS and the need for increased funding worldwide, Kallio concludes (Kallio, Portland Press Herald, 12/1).
- Kathy Wilson, NPR's "All Things Considered": The world can "only watch one group of dying black folks at a time," and black Africans -- rather than black Americans -- have won the "pity-party competition" for the attention of "well-meaning white America," Wilson -- columnist for the Cincinnati City Beat and author of a book titled, "Your Negro Tour Guide: Truths in Black and White" -- said in an NPR commentary. Wilson said she blames the black middle class for putting HIV/AIDS "on America's back burner" and black churches for "holding fast to homophobia, then ignoring" black men who have unprotected sex with men and transmit HIV to their female partners (Wilson, "All Things Considered," NPR, 12/1). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.