Preventing HIV/ AIDS

1036 Words3 Pages

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. HIV does not only affect the well-being of individuals, it has large impacts on households, communities and even nations as a whole. Peer discussions and personal research has also made me realize that some of the countries suffering from this HIV epidemic also rather unfortunately suffer from other infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, relative poverty and economic stagnation. Despite these setbacks, new inte... ... middle of paper ... ...ile the pandemic will absolutely leverage the rate of financial development, structural alterations are furthermore expected to be one of the prime economic hallmarks of the AIDS pandemic (Arndt 427-449). The effect of the HIV/AIDS epidemic can be visualized by the overwhelming change in mortality rate of South Africans. The yearly number of mortalities from HIV increased distinctly between the years 1997, when about 316,559 people died, and 2006 when an estimated 607,184 people died ("HIV AIDS IN SOUTH AFRICA"). Those who are currently assuming the burden of the increase in mortality rate are adolescents and young adults. Virtually one-in-three females of ages 25-29, and over 25% of males aged 30-34, are currently living with HIV in South Africa (UNAIDS). The good news, thanks to better supply of ARV treatment, is that life-expectancy has risen vastly since 2005.

Show More
Related

  • Exploring HIV Epidemic Causes in Sub-Saharan Africa

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Stopping the Spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection (HIV)

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    HIV is a virus that can be sexually transmitted, obtained through hypodermic needles or contaminated blood transfusions, or passed on from mother to child through pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. It starts off with flu-like symptoms, then it interferes with the immune system, making people prone to illnesses. Their immune system becomes very vulnerable. Sadly, there is no cure for HIV. Research shows that HIV originated in Africa; however, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was not recognized until 1981. HIV is a source of heavy castigation and it causes economic problems as well, especially count...

    Read More

  • AIDS Epidemic in Africa

    1673 Words  | 4 Pages

    It considers the present and future impact of the AIDS epidemic on major demographic measures such as fertility, mortality, life expectancy, gender, age, and family structure. 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.

    Read More

  • HIV AIDS

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today millions of people globally are plagued with HIV/AIDS; some of which were contracted unknowingly through heterosexual sexual contact, others unknowingly through homosexual contact and surprisingly some who set out to contract HIV/AIDS purposefully. Bareback sex refers to intercourse without the use of any barrier protections to prevent the transmission of bodily fluids between participants. This is an extremely high risk behavior given the number of sexually transmitted diseases, and not knowing the status of HIV in them or in their partners. Unfortunately, in some developing countries the technology and condom supply are very little in respect to the sexually active population, and therefore results in more cases of STD’s and HIV/AIDS.

    Read More

  • The Importance of South Africa to Canada

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    South Africa has a population of 48million and about 12% (5.7million) of it is suffering with HIV. HIV has been growing rapidly in the past two decades, more than any country in the world. This is increasing the death rate by 31% in South Africa.HIV can’t be cured from any person who has it but It can be prevented from passing to another person by not having a sexual interaction with an HIV positive person. The population of South Africa is still growing rapidly due to the high birth rate and immigration (the population growth rate is 1.34% and is expected to rise in the future). Another big problem in South Africa is unemployment, South Africa has one of the worst youth-unemployment problems in the world, it’s expected that about half of the population will be unemployed in the future. what they can do to help fix this problem is to teach the youth properly so they can grow up and find a jobs, they also should increase the amount of available jobs in any way possible, example: removing machines from doing work to allow more human workers. The HIV has also affected the expectancy rate in South Africa, making it into one of the lowest in the world (50) in 2010, but now the expectancy rate has risen up to 58 which Is still low. To increase the expectancy rate they should build more hospitals and improve t...

    Read More

  • The Problem With STD Prevention

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sexually Transmitted Diseases or STDs are an increasing problem in today’s society. There are many of them and the number is increasing in the youth of the nation. According to a 2000 poll, 18.9 million cases were reported, and of that number, 9.1 million occurred in people between the ages of 15 to 24. America needs to recognize this problem more fully and find a cure for it. Abstinence is one way to help, but what people need to realize is that it is not working.

    Read More

  • The Causes Of The Pathetic Death Of HIV/AIDS

    577 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are a lot of social issues around our lives that we still can not solve. They are just like the toxic beetles, gradually eating our lives. People always say that they try to overcome these problems but they still haven’t tried hard on this yet. There is a social issue, an important problem that everyone and country over the world should improve and against, it is HIV/AIDS.

    Read More

  • HIV: HIV And Its Impact On The World

    2016 Words  | 5 Pages

    HIV is a battle that has existed for a long time and is still an uphill battle for those affected. This sickness has not only hurt the people but it has grown to affect the economy and politics of numerous countries and regions like America and South Africa. Therefore, the stance on the resilience has grown over the past forty years. It has existed and grown and has come to be one of the biggest social issues in the world. It has become so intertwined with society that it has had lasting affects on all divisions of the world and those divisions are economic divisions, political division, and social divisions within Africa, America, and Asia.

    Read More

  • AIDS and HIV

    2363 Words  | 5 Pages

    time as well as forward.  They determined that the first cases of AIDS in the

    Read More

  • HIV And AIDS Prevention

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first national, co-ordinated AIDS education campaign was not launched until 1988, since then there has been an increase in trying to educate all people in the United States about HIV and AIDS prevention. Unfortunately, the number of infections has not seen much decline and actually some rise in the number of infections in the past decade within two specific groups: young gay men and young women of color.

    Read More

  • Hiv / Aids : A Manifestation Of Poverty

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Poverty and Disease

    383 Words  | 1 Pages

    The AIDS virus is the most common disease, and with no cure, an infected person will die. It is estimated that 90 to 95 percent of AIDS infections occur in developing countries where the world’s worst living conditions exist.

    Read More

  • HIV in South Africa

    1760 Words  | 4 Pages

    A country once in denial now has it’s South African political leaders addressing the disease that is slowing killing their population The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) which evolves into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is affecting South Africa socially as well as economically. This disease is also leaving over a million and a half children orphaned. Most of these children are not only orphaned but living with the virus as well.

    Read More

  • The Stigma of HIV/ AIDS

    2443 Words  | 5 Pages

    From the moment scientists identified HIV and AIDS, social responses of fear, denial, stigma and discrimination have accompanied the epidemic. Discrimination has spread rapidly, fuelling anxiety and prejudice against the groups most affected, as well as those living with HIV or AIDS. It goes without saying that HIV and AIDS are as much about social phenomena as they are about biological and medical concerns. Across the world the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS has shown itself capable of triggering responses of compassion, solidarity and support, bringing out the best in people, their families and communities. But the disease is also associated with stigma, repression and discrimination, as individuals affected (or believed to be affected) by HIV have been rejected by their families, their loved ones and their communities. This rejection holds as true in the rich countries of the north as it does in the poorer countries of the south.

    Read More

  • HIV and AIDS in Swaziland

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the immune system and eventually leads to its failure which allows opportunistic infections and cancers to be contracted. Today are 34 million HIV positive people worldwide. Of that, over 75 percent live in Africa. The area most infected with the HIV virus is the Sub-Saharan Region, and because of that the average life expectance in that area is less than 50 years of age. Prior to the influence of HIV that number was almost to 70 years of age. (dosomething.org) I could ramble off statistics all day, but you can tell, HIV is a serious problem in africa. No one is quite sure how the virus started, but scientists have been able to narrow its origin down to a specific type of chimpanzee in West Africa. They believe that they the chimpanzee version of the immunodeficiency virus (SIV) was somehow transmitted to humans and then it mutated into HIV. It is not known how the virus was introduced to humans, but the most excepted theory is that hunters became exposed to the infected blood of chimps and then introduced to the HIV virus. (www.theaidsinstitute.org) AIDS, which stands for "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome" is a way of describing a whole group of symptoms and diseases associated with the damage HIV does to the immune system. Here in America, being HIV positive is not necessarily a death sentence because we have drugs that can slow the virus and prevent it from becoming AIDS. In africa though, the needed medicine is vary expensive, and many infected persons might not even know they have the virus! Lack of education and a culture based on having children have made trying to rid Africa of AIDS quite a task, and we not really sure where to start.

    Read More

More about Preventing HIV/ AIDS

Open Document