HIV and AIDS

For my Action Project in my Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) class I was told to write an essay about MDGs six. seven, or eight. I decided to to write my essay on the sixth MDG which was “COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES”. Within the UN’s sixth goal I’m going to focus on fighting HIV/AIDS. This project was a pretty interesting topic to learn, because I didn't know that having HIV/AIDS would have such an impact on people's lives. As the virus continues to multiply and destroy immune cells, you may develop mild infections or chronic signs and symptoms such as Swollen lymph nodes, Diarrhea, Oral yeast infections, etc. When I learned about these symptoms I realized just how bad HIV could be, and it made me wonder when HIV and how started spreading. There has begun to spread of HIV/AIDS everywhere starting in the 1980’s. Scientists believe that the chimpanzee version of the immunodeficiency virus most likely was transmitted to humans and mutated into HIV when humans hunted these chimpanzees for meat and came into contact with their infected blood(T.I.A.). HIV/AIDS has been a real threat and there isn’t enough people who are aware of it, or how to defend themselves from it. There are simple ways to prevent getting HIV/AIDS.



About 50,000 people get infected with HIV each year in the U.S. (C.D.C.). In 2010, there were around 47,500 new HIV infections in the United States (CDC). The world is being attacked by HIV and too many people don’t know how they’re getting it. The alarming rate of new infections proves that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is a real threat to the world and has to stop.

(MJF Bad HIV)

HIV and AIDS has been spreading throughout the world and it’s hard to get rid of. There is no cure for HIV or AIDS, therefore the only way to fight it is to prevent it. MDG six it tells us to combat AIDS and HIV as well as other diseases. That basically means we should prevent or try to spread of AIDS/ HIV and other diseases. The UN made a lot of progress, in fact new HIV infections fell by approximately 40% between 2000 and 2013 (U.N.). “According to estimates by WHO and UNAIDS, 36.9 million people were living with HIV globally at the end of 2014” (WHO). Also in 2014, 2 million people became newly infected, and 1.2 million died of AIDS-related causes (WHO).

In Greece, a large amount of people are beginning to get infected with HIV/AIDS, but the government is trying to take action to prevent further spread of the disease. The amount of people in Greece getting HIV/AIDS has gone up 8.4% and the numbers are increasing (HCDCP). Even though Greece is having trouble with AIDS and HIV, they have done a good job keeping their number low. Only 12,000 of 11 million people in Greece are infected (J.K.).The government is trying to lower the amount of prostitutes there in order to make sure no one is getting HIV. Limiting the number of prostitutes in Greece will reduce the amount of people that get HIV/AIDS, since prostitutes normally don’t get tested for it. Greece’s government are also distributing more clean needles at pharmacies so no one gets infected from other people's blood.

HIV and AIDS doesn’t have to be as big of a problem as it is, and we could help fix it by simply preventing getting it. An easy way to prevent HIV and AIDS is by using condoms while having sex. Another effective way to prevent HIV is by making sure the needles when you use are clean when taking medication. Lastly, to slow down the spread of HIV/AIDS is to limit the amount of sexual partners you have. If we can slow down the spread for an entire generation then our children won’t have to worry about getting HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS are threatening so many people's lives and everyone needs to stop it and practice. There isn’t anyone who wants HIV and AIDS. If you want to prevent getting it make sure to use condoms, limit your amount of sexual partners, and use clean needles. Make sure to spread awareness on these ways so you can protect your friends and family.

Works Cited

• "United Nations Millennium Development Goals." UN News Center. UN. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.
• "HIV in the United States: At A Glance." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 July 2015. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.
• "Greece's Latest Crisis: Rising HIV Cases." NPR. NPR. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.
• "HIV in the United States: At A Glance." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 July 2015. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

Food! A Need and a Right

Over 800 million people in the world are suffering from hunger. There are many people in the world who struggle to feed their families. This is obviously a problem because no one wants others to starve. Starvation and malnourishment can’t continue, and we as people who have more than enough, are the ones who need to stop it. This won’t happen all overnight of course. We need to explore the problems of world hunger and fix them one by one. Food is a human need as well as a right, and no one wants to go through hunger.



To begin I should say that, if we can’t stop hunger from being a problem, then the number of people dying will raise by the millions. Hunger is a basic need in the physiological section in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In fact it’s the first and most important need on the list. As stated previously, 800 million people are malnourished, and are dying. These problems either came from us not caring about others in the world, or just not knowing about these issues. Now millions of people with families are dying, because they have no access to food. Not doing anything would only make these numbers grow. If that isn’t sad enough, more than a third of child deaths is from starvation, so imagine your children or future children dying from hunger, and in pain. It's almost too sad to think about isn't it?

Next, if we are able to feed the people that can’t feed themselves then, millions of people in the world will be able to live on. Malnutrition is a high cause of maternal mortality, and child deaths so fixing that would allow millions of people to survive. We would be heroes to those who need to be saving even if we can’t help them all, but it should be our moral obligation to help others. Helping solve world hunger could also help poverty because no one would be spending all their money on food, and more people could focus on getting jobs or promotions. In this way we are hitting two birds with one stone.

Lastly, in order to help with ending world hunger then we have to do something about it. A way we could try to help is by, donating to organizations that send food to places that need it most. Another example is by helping give access to education where schools pay for lunch as well as teach children. This way could solve both Millennium Development Goals 1&2 where we are trying to solve problems with primary education and hunger issues. My final examples are to start urban farming programs to help make more food in places that need it, and reducing how much food we eat in the U.S. and give to those in need. Since there are large amounts of people who can’t get food in urban environments, we should help address the hungry in cities.

We seriously need to help the hungry people in the world. It is an actual need for the human body. Everybody has been a situation where they're hungry, and maybe even brought to the point of tears. There are people who go through that every day. Depriving food from people who need food is inhuman and just plain selfish. How would you feel if you or someone you know is fighting for food every day?

Works Cited

• “2015 World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics.”World Hunger Education Service. 24 March, 2015.http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm
• Zachary Patterson.”10 Ways to stop world hunger”.The Borgen Project.2 Oct. 2013.12 Sept. 2015.borgenproject.org/10-ways-stop-world-hunger