Apple today announced that they’re is teaming up with (RED) to donate to the Global Fund to help fight AIDS. For select Apple Pay purchases made over the next week, Apple will donate $1 to the fund.
Apple says that from November 25 through December 2, it will make that $1 donation for every purchase made with Apple Pay by customers at Apple Stores, on Apple․com, and in the Apple Store application on iOS. The donations are going to the Global Fund to help fight AIDS with (RED).
Here’s what Apple says about (RED): (RED) is an organization that harnesses the power of people and companies to fight AIDS. By partnering with the world’s most iconic brands, (RED) raises awareness and generates money for the Global Fund. 100% of the funds go toward HIV/AIDS programs on the ground in sub-Saharan Africa.
MacDailyNews Note: In November 2018, Apple announced that the company had raised $200 million to support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, making Apple the largest corporate donor.
Why AIDS? Is anyone suggesting that people stop practicing sex with multiple partners and anal sex? That would help.
Perhaps if you had read the story, you would have noticed that the money is being directed at sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV/AIDS is an almost exclusively heterosexual disease. In fact, the primary target for Project (RED) is providing retroviral treatment for pregnant women who were infected by their husbands, so that their children will not be infected. Is anyone suggesting that protecting infants from an incurable disease is a problem? It seems pretty pro-life to me.
I read the article and I have read articles on the cause of AIDS, whether here or in Africa and the fundamentals are identical. Some articles suggest “truck drivers” in Africa who have frequent sex with multiple partners spread the disease. My comment, if you had bothered to read it before commenting on it, said people should be advised not to “stop practicing sex with multiple partners”. So, the best advice if you care about people is don’t have sex with multiple partners, never have anal sex, particularly with many partners, and don’t use dirty needles to inject drugs. And probably one should store their own blood for transfusions if needed.
All of that is great advice, Kent, and a part of the education that Project (RED) is providing. Still, how exactly does it apply to the situation of an in-utero infant who will be infected with HIV unless somebody provides retroviral drugs to the child’s infected mother? How does it apply to the situation of a woman who cannot legally withhold her consent to sex with her husband (as is the case in much of the world)? I am not sure why you would object to protecting them.
The problem in Africa isn’t wandering truck drivers (sent by the Easter Bunny or Ukraine, perhaps) who have sex with promiscuous women. It is that the economics of much of the continent makes it impossible for husbands to stay at home with their families, unless they wish to starve. Most men past puberty are forced to become migrant workers spending most of the year a long way from their villages. Sadly, a fairly high proportion of them—notwithstanding efforts at education—have had affairs or patronized prostitutes.
Before the causes of “the wasting sickness” became well known, a high proportion of the male population became infected, and they passed it to their wives, who passed it to their children. Even now, after the massive die-off of those who were infected before treatment was available, 27% of the adult population of Eswatini is HIV-positive and there are a dozen other countries with rates higher than 5%.
That is “why AIDS?” There are over 7 million people living with HIV in the Republic of South Africa and about that many more in the neighboring countries. Over half of them are women and children who have never had sex with multiple partners, never had anal sex, and never injected drugs. Lecturing them on those subjects sounds suspiciously like blaming the victims.
Then the “economics should be changed” so people don’t live in poverty. Give these people copies of The Declaration of Independence, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, and the Bible. Show them liberty and the tools of self governance and the benefits of economic freedom. Then they would not need us lecturing them. Oh yeah, arm them with weapons to rid their countries of Muslim warlords who thrive on unarmed victims.
Yes, there are a lot of Muslim warlords in Southern Africa.
Or not.
Apple’s money, they are free to use it how they like. Good to see they are being charitable with it. For those who can’t get past the AIDS issue, look at it this way: every dollar Apple donates for AIDS research is one dollar less someone else has to donate (and can be applied to your favorite charity).