It’s been thirty years since the AIDS disease began spreading as one of the world's fastest and most vicious killers. A plethora of awareness campaigns have saved countless lives, but the infection is still spreading, and the number of cases in Israel is growing.
In honor of this year's World AIDS Day, the Israel AIDS Task Force teamed up with the Israeli Museum of Caricatures and Comics to create a special visual exhibit aimed at opening the eyes of young people to the disease and its prevention.
"In 2010, 430 new cases were diagnosed, the highest number on record since the Health Ministry began collecting data on morbidity rates," said Yonatan Karni, the director general of the Israel AIDS Task Force.
"This figure is worrying as it represents an increase of some 12 percent since last year," said Karni. "From the unofficial figures received by the Task Force, we know that the growth rate in 2011 won't be any smaller, and that the average age of those infected is continuing to drop."
A survey recently conducted by the Task Force, in conjunction with the Mutagaim Research Institute, shows that more than 20 percent of Israeli youths between the ages of 18 and 24 have had unprotected sex even when there was a condom nearby. Another recent poll shows that 35 percent of teenagers aged 14-17 are sexually active.
"Today, not everybody is having protected sex, and this is quite despairing," said Dr. Margalit Lorver, director of the Institute for Autoimmune Diseases at Rambam Hospital in Haifa. "It's a phenomenon we thought was already passé, but unfortunately is just getting bigger. "
The AIDS Comic Exhibition, geared toward raising awareness among Israel's youth, will focus mostly on the importance of safe sex and of breaking the stigma often directed at people living with the HIV virus. The exhibit will remain on display at the Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv until January 1, 2012, and will feature the works of some of Israel's top comic artists, including Zeev Angelmeir, Michele Kishke, Uri Fink and Nimrod Reshef.
