HIV 'SET TO INFECT 90 MILLION AFRICANS’
Christian HIV/AIDS activist says the ‘only real effective weapon against the AIDS virus is to educate the next generation’
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
AFRICA (ANS) -- Nearly 90 million Africans could be infected by HIV in the next 20 years if more is not done to combat the epidemic, the UN has warned.
According
to a story on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) website, some 25
million Africans at present have HIV, which causes AIDS. And now the United
Nations (UN) estimates the next two decades could see 89 million new cases of
the disease in Africa -- or up to 10% of the continent's population.
(Pictured: The
disease has already affected millions of lives in Africa (picture from the BBC
website).The UN recommends a committed campaign against HIV/AIDS - and $200bn (£105bn) of investment -- to stem its spread.
"Millions of new infections can be prevented if Africa and the rest of the world decide to tackle AIDS as an exceptional crisis that has the potential to devastate entire societies and economies," said UNAIDS Chief Peter Piot.
DRAMATIC IMPACT
The UN report concludes that if millions of Africans are still being infected by HIV by 2025, "it will not be because there was no choice." It adds, "It will be because, collectively, there was insufficient political will to change behavior at all levels... and halt the forces driving the AIDS epidemic in Africa."
The study, entitled AIDS in Africa, was compiled over two years using more than 150 experts.
According to the BBC's UN correspondent, Susannah Price, it demonstrates the dramatic impact government policies could have on the spread of HIV and AIDS in Africa.
Commenting
on the UN report, Bruce Sonnenberg, President of He Intends Victory, a Christian
HIV/AIDS ministry based in Irvine, California, said, "It is time that the United
Nations and the rest of the world recognize that the only real effective weapon
against the AIDS virus is to educate the next generation.
(Pictured: Bruce Sonnenberg).“The proof of this is found in Uganda, East Africa, itself where, under the direction of their first lady, Janet Museveni, has taught the youth of her country the ABC's of AIDS -- A is ‘Be abstinent’, B is ‘Be Faithful’, and C is ‘(only then) condom use’.
“By teaching this order to the young people of Uganda, the rate of infection has dropped from about 16% to about 6% over the last 10 years. This has not been an easy lesson for the entire world. For those already infected, we must share the love and compassion of Jesus Christ. But if we refuse to teach this basic principle, 89 million people in Africa will pay the ultimate price - D which is ‘Death’.”
For more information on the He Intends Victory, go to their website, which is www.heintendsvictory.com.
