HIV/AIDS

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Recommended: Effects of globalisation on HIV/AIDS

The global rate of new infections of HIV/AIDS continues to fall. Does this mean the battle against the disease has almost been won?

Introduction
In the year 2000, 193 member states of the United Nations committed in achieving eight international development goals under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The main focus of this essay will be on the sixth goal of the Millennium Development Goals, namely, the combat against HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, with niche focus on HIV/AIDS.

This paper argues, albeit the success in lowering the number of newly infected persons with HIV, there is little to celebrate as the problem of HIV/AIDS is not only located within the bodies of those infected and data of declining infections. Rather, the larger problems lies in the politics of HIV/AIDS, socioeconomic factors and society’s stigma and discrimination against those who suffer from HIV/AIDS.

The argument that follows are divided into three sections. The first section deals with global data of HIV/AIDS in assessing the decline of new infections, and its difficulties thereof. Further it argues that no one policy can be accredit to this decline. The second section looks at structural issues that needs to be paid attention to in combating the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS — such as poverty and access to anti-retroviral drugs. The third section analyse the socio-medical understanding of the disease and the challenges it poses in combating the disease.

A provision, however, needs to be put in place. As Africa contributes to more than 60 per cent of the new global HIV/AIDS infection rates, this paper pays close attention to that region.

Global data for HIV/AIDS
Three decades after the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), ...

... middle of paper ...

...iscrimination and loss of social capital (i.e. jobs). In turn, they would also refuse to seek medical help for their disease for fear of being found out. This fear will lead them to live life as it is and infect others with the virus by engaging in high-risk activities.

Clearly, the battle against HIV/AIDS is far from being won for the reasons argued above, and until cure for HIV/AIDS is found, the battle is still far from being won.

Conclusion
In summation, this paper argued that the battle against HIV/AIDS globally is a complex issue which intertwines many development problems such as poverty and health. Although AR drugs could help HIV-positive individuals live a long and healthy life, issue of pricing, accessibility, intellectual property, discrimination and stigma prevents more than half of 35 million people with HIV from receiving proper care and help.

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