AIDS and HIV

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of 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 breast milk.

This transmission can involve anal, vaginal or oral sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between mother and baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding, or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids.

AIDS is now a pandemic. In 2007, an estimated 33.2 million people lived with the disease worldwide, and it killed an estimated 2.1 million people, including 330,000 children. Over three-quarters of these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa,retarding economic growth and destroying human capital.

Protest from the Youth

June 16, 1976 - Hector Petersen, a 13-year old South African student is shot and killed during a massive demonstration to protest apartheid laws in South Africa. The photograph of the fatally wounded Petersen being carried from the scene appeared throughout the world and he became a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement. A generation later, June 16 is still a day of remembrance, particularly in Soweto, where Petersen was killed. This is just one particular case but many other school children were also killed in their protest bfor freedom and equal rights. The past youth seemed to have more "fight" in them, what is happening to the current youth in the world, why are they not protesting and making a stant?

Links:June 16th Student UprisingRead a two-part series on the Soweto student protest, browse links on apartheid laws and view the famous photograph of the wounded Hector Peterson.

Soweto South AfricaLearn about the history of the township and view the iconic photograph of Hector Peterson.

The History of Apartheid in South AfricaLearn how racial discrimination was institutionalized in South Africa through apartheid laws.

Books:Anatomy of a Miracle: The End of Apartheid and the Birth of the New South Africaby: By Patti Waldmeir 1997A chronicle of the political and personal struggles to end apartheid in South Africa through the eyes of a journalist.

Soweto: The Fruit of Fearby: By Peter Magubane 1987A photographic account of the June 16th uprising in Soweto.

Politics of the New South Africa: Apartheid and Afterby: By Heather Deegan 2000An account of life in South Africa during the past decade.

Death by Famine

A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any faunal species, which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Famines in modern time are typically linked to overpopulation, as the number of humans exceeds regional carrying capacity.

Historically, famines have occurred among the poor because of agricultural problems such as drought, crop failure, or pestilence. A famine can be made worse by increased human population, war, or economic policies which place the poor at a disadvantage.

During the 20th century, an estimated 70 million people died from famines across the world, of whom an estimated 30 million died during the famine of 1958–61 in China. The other most notable famines of the century included the 1942–1945 disaster in Bengal, famines in China in 1928 and 1942, and a sequence of famines in the Soviet Union, including the Holodomor, Stalin's famine inflicted on Ukraine in 1932–33. A few of the great famines of the late 20th century were: the Biafran famine in the 1960s, the disaster in Cambodia in the 1970s, the Ethiopian famine of 1983–85 and the North Korean famine of the 1990s.