Also, social change is needed in cultures that tolerate men's sexual promiscuity and condone unhealthy gender norms. By the end of 1997 more than 30 million adults worldwide were estimated to be infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, a usually fatal condition that has no cure. Of these, about 17 million are men and 12 million are women. The majority of these cases are in the developing world. Millions more are left without support when their parents die of AIDS, or they suffer because their parents have AIDS-related diseases, such as tuberculosis, and cannot properly care for their children.
Prevention is the only solution.
Yet too many men still engage in risky sexual practices, such as having multiple sex partners, including other men, and not using condoms consistently. Men's sexual behavior puts women at risk. As a result, men transmit infections to women more efficiently than women do to men. The resurgence in some other STDs also underscores the need for men to practice safe sex. Women are less likely than men to receive timely treatment because they may have no symptoms at first, they are embarrassed, or they cannot get to a clinic.