The Republic of Djibouti is a country located in the Horn of Africa (East Africa) (CIA,2012). It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and Somalia in the southeast. It also borders the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in the east (CIA,2012). The country of Djibouti is a multiethnic nation with a population of over 860,000 inhabitants (WHO, 2012). An estimated 77.1% of Djibouti’s total population reside in urban areas (CIA,2011). The country’s total expenditure on health per capita is $193 and it’s total expenditure on health is 7% of its Gross Domestic Product, it is considered a lower-middle income country ( WHO, 2011). A large proportion of the population lives in extreme poverty and lack access to basic social services. The countries faces many health issues including poverty, chronic food and water crisis ( WHO, 2013). Despite the progress made in the nation’s implementation of a Nation Health Development Plan, Djibouti continues to face challenges and shows high rates of child and maternal mortality, high rates of noncommunicable diseases and communicable diseases ( WHO, 2013). According to The World Bank Djibouti’s health indicators are among the lowest in the world.
Health Status Indicator: Life Expectancy
An important indicator of the status of health in any country is the average life expectancy. the According to the CIA World Factbook, the average life expectancy of Djiboutians is 62.4 years (2014). This translates to 59.93 years for males and 64.94 years for females. There has been a progressive increase in life expectancy for the country since the 1940’s although it still ranks at 187 out 223 in the World Life Expectancy rankings (CIA, 2014).
The health adjusted life expectancy (HALE) at birth determin...
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...eaching 988 or 14.79% of total deaths in the country (WHO, 2011). It is the second cause of death within Djibouti and it maintains an adjusted rate of 130.17 per 100,000 people. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS also extends to the transmission of the disease from mother to child which is estimated at 26% (WHO, 2013) . Within the country 7,700 people are living with HIV/AIDS. The prevalence rates of the disease between people of age 15 and 49 is at 1.2% (UNAIDS, 2012).
Tuberculosis on the other hand is the third cause of death within the country (WHO, 2011). The deaths due to Tuberculosis is at 733 or 10.97% of all total deaths. The age adjusted death is 111.70 per 100,000 people. The high rate of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS have raised concerns of co-infection within the country.
Health Status Indicator: Burden of Disease
Comparison of Health
Interpretation
Conclusions
Compounding these exceptionally troubling numbers is a significant population with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Again estimates vary, but the United Nations projects the national prevalence rate to be 4.5 percent of the population. Other estimates place the rate as high as 12 percent in the urban population and 5 percent in rural regions. As a small “win”, the infection rate for HIV/AIDS has recently shifted downward due to significant UNAIDS/WHO efforts (Haiti – Health).
The country’s first cases of HIV were detected in 1982. About 2.6 million Ugandans were infected while 1.6 million people lost their lives to the HIV/AIDS illness. HIV/AIDS is a massive issue which currently, 7.2 percent of Uganda’s population is living with. 90% of HIV cases are discovered in developing countries and Uganda has the 7th highest number of HIV cases reported all over the world. This amounts to an estimated 1.4 million people, which includes approximately 190,000 children. In 2011 an estimated 62,000 people died from AIDS and 1.1 million children have been orphaned due to the virus. HIV is more common in women at 5.4 percent, compared to 2.4 percent prevalence rate amongst men. Developing countries such as Uganda have less money to support their basic necessities. Majority of these people do not have enough money to purchase health care to help keep them safe from the virus. As well in Uganda there is a lack of education about how HIV/AIDS is transmitted. Children need to be educate...
Although the sub-Saharan region accounts for just 10% of the world’s population, 67% (22.5 million) of the 33.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS in 1998 were residents of one of the 34 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, and of all AIDS deaths since the epidemic started, 83% have occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (Gilks, 1999, p. 180). Among children under age 15 living with HIV/AIDS, 90% live in sub-Saharan Africa as do 95% of all AIDS orphans. In several of the 34 sub-Saharan nations, 1 out of every 4 adults is HIV-positive (UNAIDS, 1998, p. 1). Taxing low-income countries with health care systems inadequate to handle the burden of non-AIDS related illnesses, AIDS has devastated many of the sub-Saharan African economies. The impact of AIDS on the region is such that it is now affecting demographics - changing mortality and fertility rates, reducing lifespan, and ultimately affecting population growth.
It is projected that nearly 200 million people across the globe are infected with this disease (Stevens, 2008). Notably, the diseases are most prevalent in young people living in underdeveloped countries of Africa. Also, it is specifically targeting poor African American women and poor communities of certain parts of Asia. This is one of the neglected diseases despite it being associated with increased risk for premature deliveries and HIV-infections, which should increase concern. This is an area that does not only call for great attention, but also requires an extensive and thorough
According to the CDC, almost 1.1 million people in the United States have HIV, yet almost 20% of those people are unaware that they are living with the condition (CDC, 2013c). When the HIV broke out almost 30 years ago in the United States, the number of new cases in a year was 130,000. Now, each year the new number of cases being presented is approximately 50,000 (CDC, 2013c). In locations like Sub-Saharan Africa, the statistics are higher. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) states, “In 2011, an estimated 23.5 million people living with HIV resided in sub-Saharan Africa, representing 69% of the global HIV burden” (UNAIDS, 2012). The World Health Organization (WHO) reinforces this point by saying, “Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected region [of HIV], with nearly 1 in every 20 adults living with HIV. Sixty nine per cent of all people living with HIV are living in this region” (WHO, 2013a). The statistics of infected people living in the United States is alarming but there are other countries, like Africa, which have higher rates of HIV due to very limited
Tuberculosis (TB), a deadly contagious disease is among the three major infectious killers that causes high mortality and morbidity, worldwide.1 Tuberculosis infects one-third of the world's population with an estimated 8.7 million new cases and 1.4 million deaths every year (WHO, 2012)2. Tuberculosis prevention has become more complex due to increased resistance against different antibiotics including rifampicin.3
During my numerous trips to Nigeria to visit my extended family, I saw firsthand how international health disparities can affect communities. It is often challenging to make the highest standard of care available to all groups and individuals here, and I became increasingly motivated to devote myself to the mission of reducing health disparities in African countries. People in my family, regardless of societal class, suffered from various illnesses including HIV/AIDS, malaria, and polio because of poor access to quality healthcare services. My goal is to return to underserved communities in both the United States and Nigeria after being armed with the training from the University of Michigan School of Information and the School of Public Health
Yemen has historically has been plagued with severe health problems spanning a majority of the region. The inhabitants of the region are dependent on the Country’s ...
Access to health care in Ethiopia has left many people without proper health care and eventual death. Millions of people living in Ethiopia die because of the lack of access to the health care system; improving the access to the healthcare system in Ethiopia can prevent many of the deaths that occur, but doing so will pose a grueling and challenging task. According to Chaya (2012), poor health coverage is of particular concern in rural Ethiopia, where access to any type of modern health institution is limited at best (p. 1). If citizen of Ethiopia had more accessibility of the healthcare system more individuals could be taught how to practice safe health practices. In Ethiopia where HIV, and maternal and infant mortality rates are sky high, more education on the importance of using the healthcare system and makin...
The 1.7 HIV-related deaths a year and 990 thousand deaths from tuberculosis is an urgency
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has had a long history of bloody conflict, civil war, and western exploitation dating back to 1885 when King Leopold II of Belgium brutally exploited the country for rubber. Agents of King Leopold II would storm a village, hold the women hostage until the men reached a quota of rubber. When the men left in search of the material, often for days or weeks, dying of exhaustion in the process, the women were raped and starved (Adam Hochschild, 161). Since that time the DRC has been caught in a cycle of continuous exploitation of natural resources by more developed countries. The DRC is caught in the political science theory called resource curse. Resource curse states that a developing country with a high amount of natural resources is at an increased risk for civil war and doomed to slower development because of political corruption, lack of economic diversification, and failure to invest in human capital (Nadira Lalji,
Nearly 50,000 people, including 30,000 children, die each day due to poverty-related problems and preventable disease in underdeveloped Countries. That doesn’t include the other millions of people who are infected with AIDS and other incurable diseases. Especially those living in Sub-Saharan Africa (70%), or “the Third-World,” and while we fight to finish our homework, children in Africa fight to survive without food, or clean water. During the next few paragraphs I will give proof that poverty and disease are the two greatest challenges facing under developed countries.
There have been several good arguments concerning taking of a gap year before college or university and after university. A few people are lucky to have taken the gap year especially because after exams, many students are often sick and tired of books and exams. Traditionally the gap year has been defined as the one year taken off by students between school and college to explore and discover the world, and career opportunities.[1] The gap year being taken by students has been in existence for decades and quite often has been remarked to be of great help to the students. Media attention has given the gap year perception of being a powerful and fashionable trend. There are various reasons for critically evaluating the vast, employment, personal, and academic benefits tied to the gap year experience.
Life expectancy statistically measures the average time an individual can be expected to live. In recent years, a significant increase in global life expectancy has been widely observed according to World Health Organization (WHO) data. However, the developing world has struggled with a short lifespan. In South Africa, inhabitants are only expected to live up to 62 years, 22 years lower than the Japanese average age. The reasons for this issue might lie on poor heath provision. This essay will analyze two optimal measurements to tackle with low life expectancy in South Africa.
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.