World AIDS Day reminds students to own their health

Erin Marsh Thinking of 'U'

Today is the 10th annual World AIDS Day. Begun by the World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention, the annual AIDS Day serves to open channels of communication, increase social awareness and tolerance and encourage education.

Until recently, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome was the No. 1 killer of adults aged 18 to 44. Although it has dropped from the top of the list of health concerns, it has not dropped out of the spotlight. Victims are getting younger and younger, hence this year's World AIDS Day theme: "Children Living in a World with AIDS."

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 400,000 children (defined as persons aged 14 years or younger) contracted HIV in 1996 alone. That brings the number of children living with HIV/AIDS to 830,000. Last year, 350,000 children died due to HIV/AIDS-related problems. The world's children are the newest soldiers finding themselves on the losing end of a tremendous battle.

Where do we start? Actually, "we" would be a good place to start. As University students, we are lucky enough to have access to the kind of health care that the majority of the world can only dream about. University Health Services is nearby, professionally staffed, clean, technologically advanced, and most students are covered for basic health care services as part of their tuition.

UHS houses a laboratory that offers such services as free, confidential testing for pregnancy and HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Students should take note of the three options available at UHS for HIV testing: If a student has numerous questions or feels uncomfortable or unsure about the test, she or he can meet with a counselor for answers, options and support; if a student has tested before or has relatively few questions, she or he can take a counselor-facilitated test and simply call back for results. Both of the previous options are free of charge for enrolled students. If a student wishes to test at home, UHS sells a home-test kit in its pharmacy for $40.

But the availability of the test does not explain why many students do not take advantage of it. "I'd just rather not know," I've heard people say.

Their fear is partially understandable. It is a frightening prospect for people in their early 20s to sit down for a test that will determine a lot of their future. The LSAT or MCAT don't even come close.

But it must be done.

An HIV test is a real wake-up call. It's a time to evaluate all the twists and turns life has taken, and decide the relative worth of any particular journey. There is a time for caution, there is a time for consideration, and then there is a time for life. But being young doesn't mean being dumb.

Most students know the drill. Posters in dorms, seminars at UHS and messages on TV and radio give the recipe for prevention. But every now and then, a study comes out revealing the high number of young people who do not regularly practice safe sex - a relatively easy preventative measure.

Of course, the extent to which we can control the life trajectory is questionable.

A lot of people say that AIDS shouldn't be a problem, that it is entirely preventable.

Sure. If all people had the benefit of adequate health care. If all people had access to education about prevention. If everyone with a drug addiction received the help they need. If all people could be sure that they'd never be raped, assaulted, or lied to by their partners. If no one ever had a blood transfusion before the age of screening. If all cities offered needle-exchange programs.

If. And probably not even then.

So we have to start where we can, and make sure we protect ourselves when it is possible.

It's true that our parents had it a little easier. They didn't have to worry about the potentially fatal consequences of a bad decision. To start our journey back to that point, students should embrace the tenets of World AIDS Day. They should take advantage of the opportunities right outside their doors; opportunities that everyone should have, but few actually do.

It's time for students to take ownership of their health, their bodies and their lives.

It's time to know.

- Erin Marsh can be reached over e-mail at eemarsh@umich.edu

12-01-97