• More than three quarters of all AIDS deaths globally in 2007 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.
• In South Africa, which has the largest number of HIV infections in the world (5.5 million), an estimated 1.8 million people have died of AIDS-related disease since the epidemic began.
• Young women in South Africa face greater risks of becoming infected than men. Indeed, among 15–24-year-olds, women account for about 90% of new HIV infections
• Injecting drug use is an increasingly important factor in some of the HIV epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa, including those in Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania

On that note, I’m realizing I don’t write all that much about what goes on here day to day.

Here’s a brief summary of what Thrive is doing to battle the AIDS pandemic through the AIDS Prevention Program.

Leadership Summit, Thrive Africa’s AIDS Prevention Program, teaches students in public schools about abstinence, finding life’s purpose and leadership development. Last term, nearly 4000 students missed less than 2 classes and successfully graduated from the class.

In Qwa Qwa, there are 600,000 kids in the school system. The long-term goal is to have a coach [a Basotho young adult that teaches classes], teaching in 1-12th grade in all of the schools.

All of the curriculums are written in-house by Thrive staff. They are culturally relevant and written with African youth in mind. Currently, the coaches are teaching Safe Sex–it outlines facts about AIDS and the importance of saving sex until marriage.

One of the biggest obstacles in teaching AIDS education is the plethora of misinformation out there. For example, many people believe that if a man has sex with a virgin he will cured. As you can imagine, not only is this false information, but has the potential to increase rape statistics as well. False information like this just points to the importance of programs like Leadership Summit that educate kids on truth of HIV/AIDS.

I think we’ve all been in conversations where people shift the blame. We use excuses all the time, “it would have been done, but [insert excuse here]“. There are times when we have a indirect or less direct responsibility to a problem, and rather than accepting our part and trying to be part of the solution, we sink deeper and deeper into denial. We hope that we’ll go by unnoticed, that people won’t realize we were actually involved and we’ll get by scot free. If we take an active part in the solution, others may look deeper and realize that we had something to do with the problem in the first place, so out of pride, we lay low.

While Thrive Trip was here, I was with my group in a house in Qwa Qwa. The woman spoke English and was active in the community. The conversation quickly turned to AIDS and American’s involvement in the pandemic in Africa. I asked her if she thought that the Western media’s influence [movies, music, etc.] had affected African culture negatively, and if so, have we, by dramatizing drugs, drinking and sex, perpetuated AIDS in South Africa.

“Yes.” She answered with no hesistation.

She went on to explain it wasn’t our fault, that people were making negative choices regarding sex and partners. BUT, there is a direct correlation between Western influence and the rising AIDS rate. A majority of African tribes value monogomy. Women were expected to be virgins when they were married. Just like in European cultures, many time a sheet was checked after the marriage night to see if there was blood and the woman was in fact a virgin when she said “I do”. But most American movies and music don’t abide by the same values, casual sex is encouraged. In a society where 1 in 4 people are infected with HIV, no wonder more and more people are continuing to be infected as this generation of South Africans is increasingly adhering to this American value system they see in movies.

How many times have you heard, “AIDS is Africa’s problem” or “it’s not our fault, we didn’t have anything to do with it”. Sigh.

It is our problem. As Americans we have perpetuated the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. I believe we are indirectly responsible for the deaths of thousands a day from AIDS. We are indirectly responsible for millions of orphans and street kids in South Africa.

It’s time to stop passing the blame and realize that as Americans, our influence is much greater than the geographical borders of our country. As part of a global economy, we have the power to positively or negatively impact the world.

So, how will you be part of the solution?

[and off my soapbox...]