The HIV/AIDS Pandemic in the Developing World

Pandemic is a large scale epidemic affecting more than one country.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was first clinically

diagnosed in the early 1980s but retrospective diagnosis suggests it

existed well before this date. AIDS is caused by Human

Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) of which there are several strains. AIDS

is a syndrome (a collection of signs and symptoms) which develops from

an impaired ability to fight disease i.e. it undermines the bodies

defences against viruses, infections and malignancies.

According to UN, at the end of 2004, 39.4million people in the world

were living with HIV/AIDS, 4.9million people acquired it and

3.1million people died because of it. Approximately 95% of those

suffering from HIV/AIDS live in the developing world. In 2004, 65% of

sufferers were living in Africa, south of the Sahara. The infection

rate is estimated at 8% of all adults compared with 1% world rate and

more than 13million Africans have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS since

it was identified. It has become the main cause of death in Africa

killing more people than malaria and warfare.

Global Diffusion of HIV/AIDS

Medical geographers have concluded that the HIV/AIDS spread in a

hierarchical diffusion pattern from a hearth area in Central Africa in

the late 1970s. The virus initially appeared almost simultaneously in

the major metropolitan areas of North and South America, the Caribbean

and Europe. These areas then acted as localised diffusion poles for

the virus, which next spread to major metropolitan areas in Asia and

Oceanic and to larger provincial cities in North and South America,

the Caribbean and Europe. Next in this cascading pattern of diffusion

were provincial cities in Asia and Oceanic and small towns in North

and South America, the Caribbean and Europe.

The geography of HIV/AIDS in Africa varies by country, by regions

within countries and by social groups. The highest rates of infection

were in eastern Africa in the early 1980s but how now shifted to

southern Africa, especially Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South

Africa where more than 20% of adults are infected.