As some of you may know, today is World AIDS Day. It’s an international day held on December 1st every year and it’s aim is to raise awareness about HIV & AIDS around the world. The first ever world AIDS day was on December 1st 1988, so it has been going on for 21 years!
Because of the importance of the issue, YBS wanted to do our bit to spread the knowledge about the virus by sharing some stats:
DID YOU KNOW THAT IN THE UNITED STATES…
* Every 9 ¬Ω minutes, someone is infected with HIV.
* An estimated 56,300 will become infected with HIV this year.
* More than 580,000 have died of AIDS since the epidemic began in 1981. 1.1 million are currently living with HIV, including 21% who are unaware of their status.
* Young people, ages 13-29 account for 34% of all new infections, the largest share of any age group. Most young people are infected sexually.
* African Americans, although comprising only 12% of the population, account for 46% of all new infections. Latinos, comprising 15% of the population, account for 17% of all new infections.
* In general, racial and ethnic minorities account for 67% of those living with HIV, and 70% of AIDS deaths.
As YBS is all about young people using their talents for the greater good (be it entertaining, helping the community or raising awareness) and in the theme of World AIDS Day, we would like to tell you about Stephanie R. Alston.
Stephanie is a twenty-year-old writer that has written and published her first book ‘As I Die Slowly (AIDS)‘. It is a fictional story centered around AIDS and what it can do to a life.
The synopsis reads:
“Taleah Chantel Davis has it all under control. She is attending one of the most prestigious HBCUs in the nation, the ideal boyfriend, great family support, and an awesome God by her side. Nothing can go wrong, or so she thought. After her first night of sexual intercourse Taleah’s life is dramatically turned upside down. During this time Taleah is forced to depend on God like she never has before. Will her weeping really endure for a night? Will her joy come in the morning or will she be forced to sit there, as she dies slowly?”
Stephanie gave us this interesting and shocking statistic :
In 2007 50% of all new HIV diagnosis and 42% of AIDS diagnosis were in the African American Community.A study was recently done testing African American male college students in the state of North Carolina over three years out of the 84 males that were newly infected 73 were African American.
The figures of this just show that awareness of this disease must be raised if we are to ever stop it.
Stephanie is a Public Relations major at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and a native of Bear Creek, North Carolina. She enjoys attending church, reading, writing, spending time with her best friends, networking, doing marketing and promotions for various companies and music artists, and spending time with her family. She is a member of many campus organizations and is currently an ambassador for the iconic brand (RED). Upon graduation Stephanie hopes to begin working in the Entertainment Public Relations field while continuing to write.
Just the kind of girl YBS loves – talented, aware and ambitious!
Make sure you check out her book and show your support whilst raising awareness by purchasing it!
Sources & for more info: http://worldaidsday.org/, http://www.aidslifecycle.org/, http://www.unaids.org/
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