STIs: Community, Country, and World

I was unable to attend class on Monday, but I still feel I can write a worthwhile blog on the subject of disparities in the global spread of STIs.
We are extremely privileged to live in the United States of America. There are many, many people who live in poverty-stricken countries who do not have the same resources and access to those resources that we have. As we have discussed in class numerous time, poverty plays a huge role in the populations that are most at risk for contracting STIs.
My "USA perspective" causes me, and others I am sure, to look at STIs as a problem, but not as necessarily seriously harmful or life-threatening. When a United States citizen becomes infected with a bacterial STI, there are several options available. There are clinics, county health departments, and college health services that provide assistance to someone with an STI. For us, treatment is available, and we are able to receive said treatment. Public health officials and teachers also work hard to make sure their is adequate education concerning the risks of STIs. Just the fact that we are well to somewhat educated on the matter gives us a head start compared to a great deal of the world's population.
In many places, this is not the case. Education may not be available, and therefore someone with an STI may be engaging in risky behavior or have an STI and not even know it. If a symptom becomes bad enough that the person is aware something is wrong, there may not be any sort of facility or affordable treatment available. In the United States, I think we see STIs more as a nuisance, and less of a serious issue. (I do not believe this applies to viral STIs, including AIDS/HIV, where there really is no cure, though treatments are more available in the U.S.)
Because of this perspective, I think that often times, we don't realize just how bad things can be outside of the United States. It can be very hard to remove yourself from the comfortable, relatively privileged life we lead.
Some of the same broad causes of disease are present within the United States. If this were not the case, we would have no STIs here. People are still engaging in risky behavior. One thing that comes to mind, however, is prostitution. In the U.S., prostitution is illegal. In many countries, it is either legal, or illegal but loosely monitored. Also, in some underprivileged countries, I think prostitution is seen as the only way for some women to earn a living, and is seen as the only way out. Therefore, these women are "forced" into this type of lifestyle, whereas I think women in the U.S. would be less likely to feel this way. And if we talk of sanitation conditions, I think it is safe to say that the U.S. is very sanitary compared to many countries, and most of its citizens have access to clean water, whereas many people around the world do not.
As long as there are people, there will be disease... that is just the facts. However, certain conditions definitely add to the prevalence of many diseases.