Statistic Resources on Children with Aids for World Aids Day

Statistics on Children with Aids are slowly surfacing as the Aids epidemic passes down through the generations. One of the primary locations for research on AIDS with recent statistics and information on Aids is at the United Nations Aids website, UNAIDS.ORG. This website has information on the latest research, statistics, graphs, tables, Excel formatted data, charts and international Aids information. There is a free pdf download of UNAIDS 2008 Global Report on Aids, with a link to a jpg wall chart demonstrating the prevalence of Aids by country on the same page.

UNICEF has produced one of the most notable reports on children with Aids. The Children and AIDS: Third Stocktaking Report, 2008 is a free pdf download available on the UNICEF and UNAIDS websites. UNICEF has a short article on the Children and Aids report which lists some highlights and findings on transmission of AIDS to children, awareness and prevention, and statistics on treatment.

International Aids statisticians and medical experts agree that early treatment of Aids in children significantly increases the chances of survival. The Children and Aids report lists a study on Antiretroviral Therapy which demonstrated that treatment of AIDS in the first 12 weeks of a child's life reduces mortality by around 76%.

The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reported on November 19, 2008 a landmark study that further confirmed early treatment can reverse a child's death sentence with AIDS. In this New England Journal reported study, it was discovered that infants with HIV who received Antiretroviral Therapy at an average age of seven weeks increased their chances of living, and the HIV infected infants were "four times less likely to die in the next 48 weeks" when compared to waiting until the symptoms of HIV surfaced.

The NIAID also has an informative page on HIV, Aids and Infants with a summary of treatment and statistics from 2004. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the US has a page with statistics and research on mother to child Aids transmission. Fortunately, it demonstrates that transmission has be reduced with increased treatment of Aids during pregnancy. They also have graphs on the state of HIV/Aids as defined by several categories, and a separate page on graphs with teenage Aids statistics. The National Institute of Health has a branch for Pediatric, Adolescent & Maternal AIDS.

Unfortunately, the majority of women do not get tested for Aids during pregnancy and statistics are showing that 25% of pregnant women who have Aids are unaware that they carry the disease. The Children and Aids report also indicated that children from an AIDS household were often not tested until they were two months old. Awareness and availability of AIDS therapies and medications will determine which child lives and which child dies.

US Aid reports that 90 percent of the 5.1 million people in India with HIV/AIDS don't know about their status until a crisis occur. A Times of India November 2008 article on Aids and Children lists some very grim statistics for children with Aids in India.

Paediatrician Sanjay Lalwani, head of the department of paediatrics, Bharati Hospital and Research Centre, says 10 to 15 per cent of children who get the infection from their mothers die within the first two years. Eighty to 85 per cent of them develop AIDS between the ages of five and seven and die.

The progression from HIV infection to AIDS can be prevented by treating these children with anti-HIV drugs (anti-retroviral therapy) when their immune system starts deteriorating. "The treatment may not be of much help if you start it at late stage of infection. At present, the government of India gives the drugs only to those children in the later stages of HIV infection," said Oswal.

The article lists AIDS statistics from the World Health Organization, and expresses the need for treatment with a listing of Aids Clinics and Aids care facilities that are available for children in India with Aids. The World Health Organization also has a page dedicated to information on children with Aids which has many pdf files, Aids treatment research, tables and graphs with statistics available in a free download.

Children with Aids have many faces. UNICEF has a Voices of Youth page. There is a YouthAids website that has Aids statistics on youth and Aids as well as general Aids statistics. The Global Ministries at The United Methodist Church has personal stories from HIV infected individuals and those suffering from AIDS. The Children with Aids Project seeks to find homes for children with AIDS and raise money for the orphans of Aids. National Public Radio has an audio broadcast from a 14 year old with Aids.

BBC reported in an article on 40 children contracting Aids in a hospital in Uzbekistan that "The United Nations says Central Asia has one of the world's fastest-growing HIV infection rates" and "Unsafe blood supplies and contaminated equipment are often blamed for spreading the infection." CNN did an indepth study on AIDS in the early 21st century, and there are many valuable historical facts on AIDS as well images, graphs and personal stories at their website. A 2006 BBC article examined how AIDS affects the workforce in Africa. This has a link to a BBC bar graph on Aids statistics around the world.

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) has a bar graph on the transmission methods of Aids to children under 13 in the US according to race. The chart is slightly outdated, as it is from 2004. Nationmaster is always good for statistics on just about anything, and they have an easy bar graph to follow which reports children living with AIDS by country.

The Stolen Childhood blog, which lists international issues and global statistics on many health, drug and crime issues that are tragic to the livelihood of children, has a post on Aids and Kenya from 2007. The UC Atlas of Global Inequality from the University of California has a link to charts, graphs and maps on children and Aids. However, be aware that the page on children and Aids has not been updated since 2006. The website however, is rich with information, statistics, whitepapers, information on conferences and links to rich resources of global statistics.

Swivel is great for finding graphs and charts, and if you need more statistics on Aids, a search for AIDS at Swivel will bring a couple pages of results about Aids statistics. Some statistics on Aids in the United States by State can be found at State Health Facts website, which offers links to many statistics on health topics, including demographics and health indicators.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has a Fact Sheet on Aids, The US Government also has an HIV/AIDS website at AIDS.GOV which has links to preventative literature and statistics on some US prevention efforts, location of HIV testing sites, and research on clinical studies. There is also a link to a list of funding agencies and programs for Aids, an Aids Youth Fact Sheet, and a nice list of Aids Agencies and Programs.

Statistics on Aids can be found on millions of websites. However, if you are doing research and are looking for accurate figures on Aids and Youth and Children, keep in mind that "youth" and "children" are often defined by different age groups. The age 15 has been included in children, youth and adult statistics on Aids.

Educating and providing early treatment to women and infants with Aids can drive the mortality statistics on children and Aids on a sharp down curve. Keeping our future generations free from Aids by providing education and early treatment of pregnant women and infants will put a stop to its generational growth. Who knows? One of the lives that are saved could be the life that finds a cure for Aids and ends the deadly disease for all future generations.

Can Miss America be President?

Can Miss America Be President?

Beauty pageant camaraderie is similar to the "good 'ol boys" network. Appearances and connections get you ahead. Sarah Palin may well be on her way to giving Miss America pageants some more credibility. Maybe the "good 'ol boys’ network" will realize "beauty" and "intelligence" can exist in one body.

The good 'ol boys might think the country is lowering its standards - but perhaps we are gradually opening our eyes to a new way of thinking. Kennedy, Ferraro, Hillary, Obama - and hopefully Palin - will give credence to the virtue of potential and the value of family.

Beauty and political networks both have their scandals. In 1957 Miss USA was dethroned because the secret-snatchers found out that she was really married and a mother of two. Maybe Palin can let beautiful people know it's okay to be a mom. Beauty and intelligence are rarely seen together. But beauty, intelligence and motherhood? It’s a media rarity. But women of that class are working hard in the hidden corners of the world. Many aren't as fortunate as us in the US and could get killed for their intelligence. Many prefer less prolific jobs than vice-president. But America and other nations are full of beautiful, intelligent mothers. Working mothers can relate to Palin.

Then there are the scandals that beauty pageant contestants and the political boys both face. More than a few have been dethroned for posing nude - although that probably is not considered humiliation these days - just a financial maneuver. The pageants have flip-flopped from swimsuits to no swimsuits and back again a few times. No wonder these beautiful women are confused.

Beauty pageants can handle the media though. In 1948 reporters protested because Miss America was in a gown instead of a swimsuit when she received her crown. The pageant tactfully conceded by allowing them to take photos of the runner-ups in swimsuits.

The most memorable clothing conflict in my time was in 1984 - the same year Sarah Palin was competing in the Miss Alaska pageant and Geraldine Ferraro was chosen as Vice President Nominee. It was also the same year I had my first son, and a year after Vanessa L. Williams was the first black to win Miss USA - and winning racist death threats along with her crown. (Who says racism doesn't exit? Whites?)

Unfortunately, Miss Vanessa Williams, much like politicians, had some secret-chasers. Posing nude for Playboy was discovered and frowned upon, and Vanessa had to step down. The runner-up, Suzzette Charles, another singer and actress, was therefore the second black holding the crown - for a record-short period of seven weeks.

Today, it's easy to witness the Miss Universe and Miss World pageants and see that race is not an issue. (Judging by looks - yes. Race - no.) Vanessa's dethroning didn't hold back her musical and acting talents. She went on the receive Emmy, Grammy and Tony award nominations and currently stars in Ugly Betty.

The first black was allowed in the Miss Universe pageant in 1959 (the year Alaska became a state), and 1960 the first black participated in the Miss USA pageant. It wasn't until 1983 that a black won. They're still far ahead of the "good 'ol boys" network though when it comes to race. Oh - and by the way - Sarah Palin was defeated by Maryline Blackburn, who is black and beautiful and now working as a professional singer.

It appears from Pageantry Magazine that most beauty pageant winners go on to media ventures, such as television, radio and music. But all that omega from fresh Alaskan fish must be working wonders in the Alaskan winners, since Wikipedia suggests that more than a few Alaskan winners went into medical fields.

Beauty pageants are an interesting way of capitalizing on human resources. The fact that the Miss America Pageant (started in 1921) was started by local businessmen to attract tourists to America isn't something I am proud of in my American history. (Oops, did I just say I wasn't proud of America?) But pageant advocates haven't been standing idly by wallowing in beautiful ignorance either. Teen drug abuse, breast and ovarian cancer, and HIV/AIDS charities receive significant help from Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants. Beautiful do-gooders.

Pageant winners are, in fact, national and international ambassadors. And international conflict infiltrates beauty pageants as well as politics. The Pageant Almanac has a beauty pageant timeline of historical events that include:

1970 - Feminist protesters throw flour bombs during Miss World 1970.
1974 - Feminists protest at Miss America.
1993 - Miss USA, Kenya Moore, is booed by the Mexican audience at Miss Universe.
2002 - Miss World is slated to be held in Abuja, Nigeria. Amina Lawal, a Nigerian woman, is sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. Miss World attempted to use the publicity of the event to bring awareness to the issue. After the event's security is threatened by anti-pageant protests and riots, several contestants withdraw and the pageant is moved to London, United Kingdom.
2003 - Vida Samadzai represents Afghanistan at Miss Earth, although she resides in the United States. Her appearance in a bikini causes an uproar in her native country.
2005 - Locals in Thailand protest at Miss Universe 2005 after contestants wearing swimsuits are filmed in front of sacred monuments.
2005 - Pakistan is represented in an international pageant for the first time at Miss Earth. Her participation causes an uproar in her native country.
2007 - Miss USA, Rachel Smith, is booed by the Mexican audience at Miss Universe. Smith also falls during the evening gown competition but recovers with grace and a smile.

(The flour bombs were also referred to as smoke bombs. Women were always less violent than men.)

Are beauty pageant networks gender-biased? It certainly appears so. It wasn't until 2001 that a male participated - sort of. More specifically, it was a transsexual who almost won the honor of being of Miss Universe as a representative of China. Quickly, the rules were revised to declare the contestants must be a "natural-born woman." Similar to the president's "natural born" requirements for U.S. Presidency.

The Miss Universe motto (since 1960) is in fact:

"We, the young women of the universe, believe people everywhere are seeking peace, tolerance and mutual understanding. We pledge to spread this message in every way we can, wherever we go."

Maybe carrying that message in our hearts can make all of us beautiful inside. Carrying that message to the presidency might even make America a country to be proud of.