The truth as it is. I have lived in a country that is one of the world's worst hit countries - Zimbabwe. having watched friends and family get infected and die coz of the epedemic has not been easy. I'll just write wat comes in my head as I have seen it.
In my country like most countries, everyone knows the facts and issues about AIDS yet no one wants to except the reality. I guess as I write this and you read this, you are thinking I will repeat the same stats that you have heard once too many times... but I am not. Nor will I try to give you the approach of throwing numbers and percentages in your face dat seem pointless and confussing. All I will do is try and explain is the reality and the truth from my own point (a point of view which I might remind you is coming from an average non-outstanding individual with just the general ideaolistic hopes and dreams just like any other 3 world born child.... ooh and a terrible speller at that). Anyway the reason I mentioned being an average 3rd world child is dat the average person is the one being infected mostly not the discplined hardworking intelluctual who wants to change the world and is doing something about it.

So let me cut the chase and get to the point. Its got to do mainly with peer pressure. Yes poverty, unsafe sex and all those other facts that the learned talk about is true no doubt but the fact that leads people to indulge in most of these is NO ONE seems to want to be a positive peer and would rather be the sheep that follows.

Ooooh by the way, the leading reason for infections in Sub Saharan Africa and if I'm not mistaken 3rd world countries is through sexual activity. Yet I have always found it surprising how people like to talk about sex so much yet when I tell them dat i am a virgin they then say dats "cool" and dat they admire me for that. Wishing they too where virgins and when I ask why not abstane they give all sorts of excusses. It jus goes to show that people would rather risk there lives (to be precious 3 500/wk people infected of AIDS and HIV in Zimbabwe alone and 2 500/wk die) jus bcoz they want to fit in rather than become true to wat they know is the right thing to be.

The solution is not a simple one, I know dat, but lets face the reality that infidelity and ignorance cause AIDS. I mean "wat really does poverty have to do with this?" Prostitution in prevalent yet for the prostitution to be "prosperous" or wat ever term could be used. Someone has to forking out money for the services... which brings me to the question. How can can you blame poverty when you have money to spend on prostitution? People if you have experienced and seen wat I have seen then you will realise that this epidemic could be reduced if people where given bac the self confidence and if youth where educated on abstience. I'd rather see a campaign on Abstinence than on people being educated on T-cells, retroviruses and wat not when your audieance has no idea wat a cell is!!! I rather organisations and governments spend less money on research about "HIV causing AIDS or not" and more funding on research to find a better method to educate people. Cause clearly the current method is not just failing but has failed entirely. Lets give people mo education in morals and self respect than in how to use a condom. Let the Puff Diddy's and Kid Rock's sing mo on having sex with their wives alone (cause clearly asking them to sing about Abstinence is being a lil' unrealistic right now), than them singing about pimpinmg and whores. This is the only way to get rid of the epedemic.

Target the trend makers and make them realise that they could make Abstinence cool and wonders will work. Cause that can be an over night sucess since it means redirecting money rather than talking about Poverty and living it at dat.

One last thing, in my country the life expectancy has reduced to 35years from 70, yet people still think its cool to be indugling in sex before marriage. I think its time to stop just talking about it and be about it! Abstinence is the way to go and you will see its worth more than you can imagine and you know wat its not as difficult as people want to make it seem.