DataWorld Aids Day: Rethink Hiv, Be positive!

36.1 million People in the world are affected by HIV and it may seems strange what I am about to tell you but: they have normal lives.

First, do we really know what HIV is? HIV is a virus that gradually attacks the immune system, which is our body’s natural defense against illness. A common mistake in the modern world is mistaking HIV for AIDS;  the latter is a syndrome caused by the HIV virus.   AIDS is the disease that results from a person’s immune system being too weak to fight off many infections, and develops when the HIV infection is very advanced. Now that we know the difference, you can understand why people diagnosed with HIV still have the chance of living a normal life, and not being doomed forever.

Don’t die of ignorance

According to an online magazine, About Health, nowadays the world not only deals with HIV, but also with HIV Phobia.

There is a fundamental problem of ignorance, because many times people do not know or they are scared. Let’s not forget about the 80’s campaigns against HIV called “Don’t die of ignorance’ campaign”, well, they wanted to inform, and they surely did, but what has been the price of that information?

Now you can definitively imagine why people were terrified of HIV and AIDS, since the virus was portrayed on a tombstone. This terror was not only spread through our parents’ generation, but also to teachers. A recent article from The Guardian  gave me the chills. While I was reading the story of HIV positive children, what terrified me the most was the teachers’ reaction: they were terrified and badly informed.  The starting point of the article is very significant:  “The teacher was discussing HIV and Aids: And some of the pupils were joking around, and the teacher said: ‘Guys, it’s not funny! If you have HIV, you don’t have long to live. If you have HIV, you’re going to die.’” Imagine the feeling of an HIV positive child listening to this.  And imagine the reaction of another one to this:  “We were in a science lesson and the teacher was asked, how is the HIV virus passed on? And the teacher said, you can get it from kissing someone. And I knew, of course, that this wasn’t true, but I wasn’t able to put the teacher right because how could I have explained how I knew without disclosing my own HIV status, which it wouldn’t have been appropriate to do?”

#RethinkHIV: positive effects of a kiss

At this point, the fact s immediately clear that if we really want to change prejudice and ignorance there is the urgency to give out information, especially to the younger generations.

NAT (National AIDS Trust) did it right by launching the #RethinkHIV campaign for the World Aids Day. Perfect title, if you think about what previous campaigns have done (remember? AIDS? A tombstone?).

#RethinkHIV has one goal: “NAT is challenging people to rethink outdated stereotypes, challenge myths and be positive about HIV, with our ‘Think Positive: Rethink HIV’ campaign. We will be rallying a movement of people to tell the truth about HIV. From awareness-raising bake sales to sharing stats and info online; there are many ways you can get involved.”

What better way to inform on such a delicate matter than on social media? 72% of all internet users are now active on social media and 18-29 year olds have an 89% usage. By targeting them, you can really change the future of information.

Today? Go and spread the #RethinkHIV message: ignorance spreads HIV, not a kiss.