How to avoid AIDS in Estonia?

The first HIV-positive in Estonia was discovered in 1988. Since then, there have been over 6400 registered HIV-positives. You find this number too big? The information you are going to read next can and should shock you.
The statistics that show HIV cases per million people reveal that Estonia is on top of this chart. There are 467 HIV-positives in Estonia per million people. This is extraordinary, considering that Russia has 247 registered cases per million and Portugal, who is next to us, has 251 people infected per million. That is nearly half less then in our country! I, for one, find this information very disturbing. 467 HIV-positives in Estonia is getting dangerously close to the number of people infected per million in countries, such as Nigeria and South-Africa. These two countries have the most people living with AIDS. This might be the last chance to ask ourselves what exactly is going on before the spreading of HIV and AIDS turns into a national disaster. More importantly, we must ask ourselves what we can do to help the prevention of the brutal illness.
First, let us concentrate on the things that our state can do. In the early 1990s, when the disease first started to spread throughout the country, denial was the first reaction of the politics. This is not our problem, they said. Some experts recognized the seriousness of the problem and asked the state to provide a million kroons for a prevention campaign. Again, nothing was done. You can imagine that the idea of a syringe-exchange program was completely unthinkable. Today, the attitude of the politics has luckily changed. But still, there is no reason to be happy. Instead of giving a million kroons when it was first asked, now the state has to provide millions and millions of kroons for the treatment and prevention of HIV and AIDS. Still, it is good that the state has finally recognized the problem.
Secondly, we need to educate people. One must hope that the HIV-negative people in Estonia also understand it. Unfortunately, it is the other way round. Recently, articles have been published in our mass media concerning the spreading of HIV in Estonia. The Internet comments that I have read make me sick. Estonians believe that this is only a problem of drug-addicts, prostitutes and homosexuals. They are of the opinion that ordinary people can not get HIV. These people will not understand why the state has to give so much money for the campaigns. At present, it will be even more difficult to understand because of the predicted economic crisis and inflation. As said before, we need to educate people. To my mind, the first step is to provide sexual education in schools. By educating children, they would pass the knowledge to their parents. This is of utmost importance, since HIV is mostly spread through sexual contact between people at the age of 15-24. We must do something to save our youth. Although, I must confess that the idea of having condom machines in our schools, such as in Finland or in Sweden seems a little too bold considering the attitude of our society. Most people would laugh at this idea, but then again, there are only 26 people per million infected with HIV in Finland.
Thirdly, let us think of the things each individual can do. Most importantly, a HIV-negative individual should set an example to society. This person should spread his knowledge of HIV, but also help the people who are carrying the disease. HIV-positives are people too. They do not want to feel as if they are the outcasts of society. They should have a right to live a full life as long as they can. The HIV-positives should set an example too for the rest of us. They should have regular check-ups at the doctor’s, eat healthily and if possible, go in for sports as well. I hope one day our society will be mature enough for HIV positives to come out in public without the fear and being pointed fingers at, or even worse, being avoided.
Experts have predicted the spreading of HIV to increase in Estonia in the future. At present, it seems as if the state is finally starting to recognize the problem in Estonia. Nevertheless, there is hard work to be done if we want to save our people from dying of the modern day plague. Every one can make a huge difference by simply changing one’s attitude.