Some food for thought on Thanksgiving Day

Hey everyone,

I hope Thanksgiving Day finds everyone well and that you all manage to spend a little time with the people you love. I sure wish that I could have the three F's in my life right about now -- family, friends and football. But I'm happy to settle for some nsima, which is what I eat every day, and my new Grassroot Soccer family.

I just wanted to write a quick entry to share some of the latest research in the world of HIV/AIDS. All the information is coming from the Kaiser Family Foundation, one of the leading researchers of HIV/AIDS and other global health problems in the world. KFF is an American non-profit that does a lot of good work all over the world and I love reading all of their most recent updates.

Here are two links to the latest stats and figures for the global HIV epidemic. The first link is a general stat sheet that covers HIV all over the world while the second link focuses exclusively on Africa's relationship with the HIV/AIDS virus.

1. World

http://www.kff.org/hivaids/upload/3030-14.pdf

2. Africa

http://www.kff.org/hivaids/upload/7391-08.pdf

In case you don't have time to look through the two links I'll share some of the facts that I find the most interesting.

A) 67% of people living with HIV/AIDS live in Africa (that's 22.4 million people). 70% of new HIV/AIDS infections take place in Africa, and 70% of all HIV/AIDS related deaths occur in Africa. There are mind blowing percentages when you consider that there are currently 33.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS and Africa only accounts for 12% of the world's population.

B) The Adult HIV/AIDS prevelance rate in Sub-Saharan Africa is 5.2%.

Sorry to give you guys such a sombre Thanksgiving post but I think it's important to think about things that this while your giving thanks for whatever your giving thanks for.

Before I sign off, I will finish with a really important quote from the KFF:

"The latest country estimates from UNAIDS and WHO indicate that in most sub-Saharan African countries, HIV/AIDS prevalence has stabilized, although often at high levels. In addition, some countries have even begun to experience declines. Finally, there is evidence of reduced risk behavior in some parts of the region. Most countries in sub-Saharan

Africa have developed national responses to HIV/AIDS through National AIDS Commissions, legislation, programs, and services"

There is hope after all!

Happy Thanksgiving!