The Burr in the Burgh

HIV-AIDS is a terrible disease. And it is spreading in Africa at an alarming rate. I hope that research will advance to find better treatments and a cure.

That having been said, the President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Sudan spoke at my church last winter and he alerted us to an equally horrific disease that is much less well publicized. Malaria. He told us that in his country, the UN is reticent to provide assistance for battling malaria because most/all of their attention is on HIV-AIDS. He also informed us that hundreds of children die from malaria in his town every year, but not one has died of AIDS. Clearly, there is a need for helping people with both afflictions.

That is why I was delighted to read this story. President Bush is pledging $1.2 billion for fighting malaria in Africa. Over a million people die every year in Africa from malaria, most of them children.

I feel sympathy for anyone dying from AIDS and believe they should be shown compassion and helped. But frankly, there is a very easy way to prevent the spread of AIDS. It's called chastity. But there is NOTHING you can do in Africa to keep from getting bit by mosquitoes.