Happy Birthday to MVP and Rachel Elizabeth
A new drama is about to debut tonight, and it's rather different from others (save for the drama on the SARS virus). "By My Side" will be the first ever drama whose main focus is on an unseen disease that has claimed many lives all around the world in the past few decades (mostly in Africa)... AIDS. The drama stars Chen Hanwei, Zoe Tay, Elvin Ng, Rui En and a few others.
A new drama is about to debut tonight, and it's rather different from others (save for the drama on the SARS virus). "By My Side" will be the first ever drama whose main focus is on an unseen disease that has claimed many lives all around the world in the past few decades (mostly in Africa)... AIDS. The drama stars Chen Hanwei, Zoe Tay, Elvin Ng, Rui En and a few others.
For those who may not know exactly what AIDS is, it is a set of symptoms and infections resulting from the damage to the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors. HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid, and even breast milk.
The worst part is... there is no known vaccine or cure for AIDS.
For more info on AIDS and the Red Ribbon symbol, go to these 2 links...
During the sermon on Sunday, Dr Donald Messer came up with a few statistics regarding AIDS...
- 33.2 million people are infected worldwide
- Nearly 50% of the AIDS carriers are women; 60% of these women are from Sub-Saharan Africa
- There are currently about 16 million AIDS orphans, most of them getting the disease from their parents
And here are some statistics noted in the Singapore Health board...
2003- 242 AIDS cases
2004- 311
2005- 317
2006- 357
2007- 423!!!
Based on a recent poll, 68% of the people who took the poll knew that sharing a meal with an HIV-positive person cannot transmit HIV. Only 22.4% said that they wouldn't mind sharing a meal with an HIV-positive person. And 54% said that they would care for a family member living with HIV.
Perhaps the social stigma shouldered by AIDS patients can never be fully alleviated, nor can the public quell their fears to whole-heartedly embrace them, but as their family, the least one can do, would be to stick by the sufferers through weal and woe. The unconditional support, genuine love and concern, and acceptance by family members are the greatest strength that the sufferers can ever seek and it is this strength that allows them to hold their heads up high and continue down the paths of their lives.
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