Just found that HIV infections in Sri Lanka are rising rapidly. As Perambara reports there is a 49% increase of HIV cases in Sri lanka during the last 6 months.
The number of HIV infected is like an Iceberg. We see only a small fraction of the real number of patients as number of infected as there at the society, unaware of the infection, and spreading it to other people.
This is an alarming situation and i think it’s the right time for the leos to raise awareness on issues like this. I have seen leos distributing leaflets , going house to house to raise awareness. So how about doing a campaign about HIV/AIDS / STD ?
Decades ago talking about sex and sexuality was taboo. HIV/AIDS patients were discriminated and cornered from society. Today the world had changed and Sri Lanka has also changed to some extent regarding the attitude towards sexual issues. It’s youth who could take the fore front on talking on the issues like this as they would be the key risk factor.
One day a leo , a girl approached me and said, there was an area where the youth were uneducated about the STDs and the rate of STD is increasing. I praise her courage to think of a project like that.
More than 1000 abortions are performed daily in Sri Lanka. What is the key factor behind the large number of abortions ? It’s lack of awareness about family planning. If we as responsible youth leaders address these issues we would be able to minimize such unfortunate happenings.
Even the education system should take some burden of this situation. As i think it’s still prohibited to teach school children about contraceptives. As students from year 9 onwards are sexually active (biologically) they should have to right to know about their body and how to care themselves.
Blaming the system or institutions will not do any good. Yet lets take ACTION. If leos could promote the ABC’s of HIV prevention that would be great. The ABC’s are
- Abstain – Do not have sex , avoid sex
- Be faithful – Be faithful to one partner
- Use a Condom – Use a condom during sex
So a person can Abstain , if they do not like abstaining they can Be faithful to one partner and they do not like that option as well they could use a condom.
So who would take the “challenge” of organizing an HIV/AIDS awareness program ? Who would do a project on Sex education ? AIDS day is on December 1st and I hope to see leos doing projects to address this problem.
Find resources on World Aids day can be found here and here. They provide project ideas , resources , etc.
Stop Aids , Keep the Promise. !!
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