A campaign is targeting young people by advertising on Facebook, billboards and bus stations to fight a jump in Onondaga County’s HIV and sexually transmitted disease infection rates.

The ‘One Decision’ campaign aims to get young people to think about the consequences of having unprotected sex before doing it, said Jean Kessner, public relations director of AIDS Community Resources. AIDS Community Resources is a nonprofit organization based in Central New York that works to stop the spread of HIV and offers support services to those affected by or infected with HIV or AIDS, according to its website.

‘Young people do not get the education that they once did,’ Kessner said. ‘We’re trying to cut right through to them and say, ‘Think about it.”

Cynthia Morrow, commissioner of the Onondaga County Health Department, reported 661 cases of STDs in young people ages 13 to 25 in Onondaga County in 2010, according to an April 18 news release from Kessner, who is also the councilor-at-large for the Syracuse Common Council.

During the past five years, 41 people between the ages of 13 to 24 were also diagnosed with HIV, with the majority being African-Americans. In one four-month period, 10 males who were age 25 and younger also had HIV-positive test results, according to the release.

Kessner said she does not know why there has been a recent increase in HIV rates in the county and that there are only theories as of now. But there seems to be a lack of knowledge among young people when it comes to STDs, she said.

‘There’s this myth out there that AIDS has been cured, that is not true. There is no cure,’ Kessner said.

Maddy Coda, a sophomore in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, said she thinks more people are having unprotected sex at younger ages. Although Coda said she thinks it is important to spread the word about HIV and AIDS, she is not sure how much the campaign will help in raising awareness.

‘I don’t think most people would pay attention to a campaign on Facebook,’ she said.

Kessner said she wants to help make people aware of how to have safe sex and that it is important for them to ask whether or not their partner has been tested for STDs.

‘The only sure way to have sex and not get HIV is to know the status of your partner,’ Kessner said. ‘There are still some STDs you can get, even if you use a condom, so you have to be smart.’

snbouvia@syr.edu

Published on April 20, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephanie: snbouvia@syr.edu | @snbouvia