Throughout history, the black people of South Africa have been oppressed by the country's apartheid government. In 1994, the apartheid era ended as the new, democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, was sworn into office. Although the abolition of the apartheid era was an enormous turn-around for South Africa, throughout this transformation, a new underlying situation threatened the endurance of the country; a situation that would prove to be an even "more formidable foe than apartheid" (Kapp, p1202 2004). This threat has evolved into the full-blown pandemic of the HIV/AIDS virus.
The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the current HIV/AIDS situation in South Africa, explain several programs that have been initiated by international organizations to aid the country, and explain the impact globalization has had on the awareness of this disease, and how the organizations are using this effect to their advantage.
To understand the efforts being made to help South Africa control this pandemic, an understanding of what the country is facing is essential. "The virus is like a snake," said Nomawethu Ngalimawe, a woman from a township outside of Cape Town, "It is killing everyone - mothers and children - and it moves in the dark and in secret" (Kapp, p1202, 2004). Ngalimawe took in her sister's orphan after she and her husband died from the circumstances of AIDS. Not long ago, Ngalimawe discovered that she also has the disease. Although her story is tragic, it is, unfortunately, a reality for many who live in South Africa at this time, especially women. The disease, in fact, is affecting women more and more. In Africa, "women now make up 60 percent of people living with HIV" (www.worldbank.org). This poses a serious threat to the development of the country "given that women are the main caregivers and the source of household labor, their illness means the collapse of family care and household income" (www.worldbank.org).
Given the rate as to which this disease is spreading, organizations such as HIV Management Services project that by the year 2008, more than 500,000 South Africans "will die of AIDS each year" (www.aids.org.za/). Also, the average life expectancy, which was about 60 years in 1998, is expected to fall "to around 40 years" (www.aids.org.za/) in 2008.
There are various explanations as to why this disease is continuing to spread.
The HIV epidemic hits nowhere else in the world harder than Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the entire world’s cases of HIV. In her book, “The Invisible Cure”, writer Helen Epstein explores the myriad of reasons as to why the HIV outbreak is so alarming as well as differentiated than any other area of the world. Epstein explores how cultural factors influence individual behaviors as well as generations that grow up under these cultural conditions, how political involvement (or lack thereof) can often misinform people, and how structural levels of privilege allows less opportunity for those in poverty to obtain the help that they may need.
The good news is that if we act with urgency, we have a great chance to impact the lives of millions of Africans for the better. It seems obvious that, according to Kofi Annan's essay, the best way to do this is by targeting the women of Africa. Through the use of AIDS education, new drought-resistant crops, and international resources it is possible to reduce the spread of AIDS and, in turn, help to lower starvation rates.
According to WHO in 2007, “more than 95% of HIV cases are in developing countries, with two-thirds of them in sub-Saharan Africa. “ In addition, there were 2.1 million deaths related to HIV and 2.5 million...
Bolognesi, Natasha. AIDS in Africa: A Question of Trust. Nature 443.7112 (12 Oct 2006): 626-627. Print.
The HIV/AIDS Epidemic is undoubtedly the major problem associated with low life expectancy in South Africa. AIDS is caused by HIV which attacks the immune system of the human body leaving the body defenseless against all other ailment. Though the AIDS virus is principally transmitted through sexual intercourse there are several other ways it can be transmitted which includes; mother to baby transmission, skin penetration from unsterile infected object. It is therefore suggested that most HIV and AIDS related deaths in South Africa are generally between wi...
Half of the world’s cases are found in what is referred to as the AIDS belt, a chain of countries in eastern and southern Africa that is home to two percent of the global population. The main vehicle for spreading HIV throughout Africa is heterosexual intercourse. In contrast, this is the opposite compared to the U.S. where the virus is usually transmitted through homosexual intercourse or contaminated syringes shared by drug users. Besides heterosexual intercourse, HIV transmission through transfusion and contaminated medical equipment is common in sub-Saharan Africa. Africans infected with HIV die much sooner after diagnosis than HIV infected people in other parts of the world. In industrialized countries, the survival time after diagnosis of AIDS ranges from 9 to 26 months, but in Africa the survival time for patients is 5 to 9 months (UNAIDS 3). Factors, such as lower access to health care, poorer quality of health care services, poorer levels of average health and nutrition, and greater exposure to pathogens that cause infection all contribute to the shorter survival in Africa. It is difficult to stop the flood of AIDS cases in Africa because it is not yet known by researchers the factors that contribute to outstanding prevalence of the disease among heterosexuals. This diagnosis will help determine how likely it is that heterosexual epidemics will spread to Asia or the West.
By the year 2000, 58 million people have been infected by HIV/AIDS and alarming numbers such as 22 million would have already died. And the epidemic continues to spread. HIV/AIDS historically is considered to be one of the longest running worldwide epidemics that we have ever seen, and figures cannot be placed on the true death tolls or estimation of the damage as the cycle still is yet to reach an end (Whiteside 2002). With Africa being the worst hit continent in the world in terms of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the severity of it’s prevalence; one can only begin to question whether HIV/AIDS and poverty and directly connected or the inter-linkages exacerbate one or the other. This paper aims to argue that HIV/AIDS is a manifestation of poverty, and simultaneously poverty contributes to growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Development in response both to poverty reduction and to HIV/AIDS is complicated when both have multi-dimensional and multi-faceted impacts on a society, whether it be social, economic or human development impacts. This paper will argue that pre-existing socio economic conditions within a country such as high levels of poverty, poor sanitation, malnutrition, environmental degradation and poor public healthcare systems and limited access to preventative care are crucial factors in contributing to the transfer of the infection (Pasteur: 2000, Mann: 1999).
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, commonly known as HIV/AIDS is a disease, with which the human immune system, unlike in other disease, cannot cope. AIDS, which is caused by the HIV virus, causes severe disorder of the immune system and slowly progresses through stages which disable the body’s capability to protect and instead makes it vulnerable for other infections. The first blood sample to contain HIV was drawn in 1959 in Zaire, Africa while molecular genetics have suggested that the epidemic first began in the 1930s (Smallman & Brown, 2011). Currently, according to the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS, 35.3 million people worldwide are living with HIV. In 2012, an estimated 2.3 million people became newly infected with the virus and 1.6 million people lost their lives to AIDS (Fact Sheet, UNAIDS). It is due to the globalized international society that a disease which existed in one part of the world has managed to infect so many around the world. Globalization is narrowly defined by Joseph Stiglitz as "the removal of barriers to free trade and the closer integration of national economies" (Stiglitz, 2003). Globalization has its effects in different aspects such as economy, politics, culture, across different parts of the world. Like other aspects, globalization affects the health sector as well. In a society, one finds different things that connect us globally. As Barnett and Whiteside point out (2000), “health and wellbeing are international concerns and global goods, and inherent in the epidemic are lessons to be learned regarding collective responsibility for universal human health” (Barnett & Whiteside, 2000). Therefore, through all these global connections in the international society, t...
This article explains the overall epidemiology of HIV in South Africa. Williams goes over the spread of the disease and the differences in prevalence among different provinces. He also explains that prevalence increases with age after 15 years of age and that the disease is more prevalent among women. Williams also describes different factors that may have a significant impact on the spread HIV including circular migration, something that is often blamed for the rapidness of the spread of HIV. Finally, Williams describes different treatments and prevention strategies and their effectiveness, and the research needed and steps to be taken to reduce the continued spread of the disease.
Aids is a worldwide pandemic, it is affecting people on every continent, and country. However this paper focuses on Africa, within the county of Uganda. In Uganda, AIDS rate has dropped drastically in the last ten years. Whether it is due to deaths, incorrect calculations, change in behavior or a country coming together as one, this country has worked for several years to reduce the rate of people infected with the disease. Although, Uganda has made commendable progress in improving the fight towards AIDS they still lack and are in much more of improvement. The country as one needs education, they need to be taught and raise awareness even more.
Although Apartheid was abolished and a constitutional democracy was established, it’s tremendous impact on the people of South Africa remained, mostly noticeable in their health challenges. Racial segregation was replaced by economic standing, which had the same impact in health care: the wealthy, who were mostly white, were able to obtain treatment, while the impoverished, the majority of which were blacks, continued to fall victim to diseases. While Post-Apartheid initiated “free primary health care for all” (Coovadia 820), three-fourths of doctors worked in private sectors, where they were paid more by the wealthy. Although these doctors became more wealthy, the impoverished continued to die due to the decrease in the doctor to patient ratio in urban services, which lead to the swift spread of diseases, such as HIV.
When the chapter discusses HIV/AIDS, the locations mentioned are Africa, the Asia-Pacific Region, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Middle East and North Africa. The countries that are still facing major issues with controlling this disease are Africa, the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This disease is so severe in Africa that over 14 million children lose both or one of their parents. Although the infection in children have went down significantly, “over 22.5 million people are living in Africa with AIDS/HIV.” Moving into the Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the main issue that is causing HIV to spread is the amount of drug use and injections. This also causes a main concern in prisons because not only is HIV spreading, but multidrug resistant tuberculosis is as well. Finally, there is a major HIV issue in the Caribbean, causing it to have the 2nd highest infection rate in the world. This huge population of people carrying HIV has caused many countries to criminalize sex work and sex between
The Centers for disease control (CDC) has declared AIDS a global pandemic. No one person or group is safe from contracting this virus; knowledge, and safety is the only way you can protect yourself. However, the first black South African diagnosed with AIDS was in 1987, and currently South Africa is home to over 5.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS, making it the largest population on earth with people infected. (3)
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome has been traveling its way through Africa for many years causing the various amounts of deaths, while conditions only worsening the affect on people. While Africa being a developing country, with their lack of knowledge about the disease and the other health issues that causes it to spread faster than they can control. AIDS has taken many lives throughout Africa shortening the average lifespan and leaving the orphanages over flowing with kids that have lost their parents to this drastic disease. The disease has taken over Africa as a whole and turned it into a graveyard that just keeps growing. But as time has progressed there has been more education brought to Africa. AIDS throughout Africa has taken a tremendous
The emergence of HIV/AIDS is viewed globally as one of the most serious health and developmental challenges our society faces today. Being a lentivirus, HIV slowly replicates over time, attacking and wearing down the human immune system subsequently leading to AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) at which point the affected individual is exposed to life threatening illnesses and eventual death. Despite the fact that a few instances of this disease have been accounted for in all parts of the world, a high rate of the aforementioned living with HIV are situated in either low or medium wage procuring nations. The Sub-Saharan region Africa is recognized as the geographic region most afflicted by the pandemic. In previous years, people living with HIV or at risk of getting infected did not have enough access to prevention, care and treatment neither were they properly sensitized about the disease. These days, awareness and accessibility to all the mentioned (preventive methods, care etc.) has risen dramatically due to several global responses to the epidemic. An estimated half of newly infected people are among those under age 25(The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic). It hits hard as it has no visible symptoms and can go a long time without being diagnosed until one is tested or before it is too late to manage.