Discover the Importance of HIV Awareness

Since the emergence of the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s, a great deal of scientific research and public discussion has revolved around the role of the human immunodeficiency virus, known for short as HIV, in the development of AIDS. Today, most mainstream medical sources, including the World Health Organization, agree the HIV retrovirus causes AIDS, which has killed more than 25 million people around the world. Still, some so-called "AIDS denialists" claim the disease the HIV virus does not cause AIDS and even claim racist or political motivations led to the spread of AIDS.

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki designed his public-health policies on the premise that HIV does not cause AIDS, basing his authority on the work of AIDS denialists, such as Peter Duesberg of Berkeley, California. Duesberg and others claim sociopolitical bias caused the poverty and malnutrition in Africa that provided a breeding ground for AIDS.

In the United States, both government agencies and private institutions have long advocated campaigns designed to minimize behaviors that put people at risk for HIV infection. They have based these campaigns on the mainstream thesis that shared bodily fluids, such as blood and semen, transmit the virus. These campaigns urge "safer sex" guidelines to persuade sexually active individuals to use condoms for penetrative sex and discourage drug addicts from sharing contaminated needles. Supporters of these programs have claimed success in reducing the rate of new infections, but some religious groups believe sexual abstinence is the only morally acceptable solution.