Since most people are focused on Kanye and Fitty’s record sales, I decided to reveal some statistics of my own.

As of 2006 in the USA, an estimated 500,000 people were said to be living with Aids, 60% of which are either Black or Hispanic. An estimated 1,411 children aged under 13 were living with AIDS at the end of 2005. The vast majority of these children acquired HIV from their mothers during pregnancy, labor, delivery or breastfeeding.

The number of deaths among people with AIDS has remained relatively stable since 1999; there were an estimated 17,011 deaths in 2005. Since the beginning of the epidemic, an estimated 550,394 people with AIDS have died in the USA.

Here are some other numbers I think you may find uncomfortable to read…

• More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.
• Africa has 12 million AIDS orphans.
• At the end of 2006, women accounted for 48% of all adults living with HIV worldwide, and for 59% in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Young people (under 25 years old) account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide - around 6,000 become infected with HIV every day.
• In developing and transitional countries, 7.1 million people are in immediate need of life-saving AIDS drugs; of these, only 2.015 million (28%) are receiving the drugs.

The thing that scares me the most is that we’ve accepted as a society that AIDS & HIV are just facts of life. More and more people are dying each year, many of which can’t receive treatment, and there seems to be no end in sight…

They say knowledge is power…but without wisdom, knowledge is futile…

For some more statistics on the epidemic head to the Avert website. 

Peace & Love…Woof The Phonocator