Frontdesk by David Waggoner
Seeing is believing. Or so they say. As many as 320,000 Americans who are HIV-positive do not know that they are. Another 250,000 positive Americans know their serostatus but have yet to receive adequate medical treatment for this life-threatening condition. This is according to the Centers for Disease Control’s latest information. Taking into consideration that more than 1.1 million Americans are currently living with HIV/AIDS, that means that well over twenty-five percent of HIV-positive America is without care, without counseling, and without a clue as to how to receive proper medical and nutritional information so they might have the opportunity to live healthier and longer lives.
In many ways, America is on the brink of a national healthcare disaster. Over fifty million Americans—one in five—have no healthcare insurance. And that number is climbing every day. Many part-time jobs don’t provide health insurance. And many full-time employees are now expected to share a greater burden of their primary healthcare and prescription drug costs. This isn’t fair. It isn’t equitable when you consider that America is spending more money on fighting insurgents in Iraq than it does on taking care of those U.S. citizens living under the poverty line.
At the rate we’re going, it is not impossible to imagine that many Iraqis will have better healthcare services than many of the rural and urban poor living in this country. Our charity toward others must begin at home. We cannot and should not afford otherwise. It is our own public and international disgrace.
Worse yet is how America’s businesses are responding to the AIDS crisis in America. Witness a recent article in a major newspaper: “Less than half of the Fortune 500 companies in America have any internal educational programs dedicated to combatting HIV in their own workforces. Most have anti-smoking campaigns; most give to the American Cancer Society.” But not AIDS. This appalling truth will only make things worse for many Americans—especially those under the age of twenty-five. Surely, American companies should invest in the future of their younger employees, who are more apt to become HIV-positive. Older Americans in the workforce are more likely to be married, have fewer sex partners, or don’t present with the societal ills that disproportionately affect younger Americans, like drug use, alcohol abuse, or unsafe sex practices.
Condom use is on the rise in Africa. Brazil is seeing a decrease in new HIV infections. Even China—very much behind the times in terms of sexual health issues—has shown a real interest in stemming the HIV epidemic within its borders. So why is America lagging behind the times? If history tells us anything, it is that it’s difficult to keep an issue, a cause, even a war—popular. When it comes to diseases, well, there’s so many out there needing our attention. And AIDS doesn’t have the cachet it once did. From the efforts of Hollywood celebrities to the staging of local charity events, fundraising has fallen in real terms—adjusted for inflation—from twelve years ago. About the time that protease inhibitors hit the scene.
Getting serious about AIDS is a little like the first days of school. Summer is over. Fall is ahead. The seats are hard to sit in. And the lessons to learn aren’t always so easy to remember. But just remember this: Success depends on everyone participating, and that’s why it’s so important to teach others about safer sex, compassion for the community, and correcting the misconception that AIDS is over. It’s not over till we teach one another the fact that HIV is still a bad apple.
September 2005
