Hiv Aids In Sub Saharan Africa example essay topic

709623540 Unit 3 Project. 11/19/2002 Carl Cose art. AIDS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA One of the major factors of the increasing death rate in sub-Saharan African countries is the deadly virus HIV positive (Human Immune Deficiency Virus) and disease AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). The region accounts for 70% of the world's HIV / AIDS population.

Researches by various groups have reported that this disease is directly linked to the high poverty rate in the region. Research done by Desmond Cohen the author of the article "Joint Epidemics Poverty and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa", states that countries with low economic status such as Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, South Africa, and Zimbabwe suffer highly from this deadly disease. With Botswana having 35.8%, Lesotho 23.5%, South Africa 19.9%, and Zimbabwe 25%, of the world's HIV / AIDS population, they also have low economic status that makes treatment difficult for their AIDS patients, and for others to come up with a solution for this problem (Cohen 1). There have been numerous proposed solutions for this problem, from introducing the drug, nevirapine to African countries manufacturing generic versions of AIDS drugs themselves, and also developed nations providing assistance. According to the article "Aids in Africa", an editorial in the Nations Journal, the best solution is for the WTO (World Trade Organization) to lift restrains on sub-Saharan countries so they can manufacture generic medication for their HIV / AIDS patients, and acquire capital to build healthcare systems for long term drug therapy, educative programs HIV / AIDS, and the support needed for HIV / AIDS positive orphans to have the opportunity to attend school, which in my opinion is also the best solution.

But before I discuss the proposed solutions and their effects, I will establish the extent of the problem. The Extent of the Problem Statistics released in January by the University of Natal at Durban, show that South Africa's HIV- related problems are massive. The report states that: o "120,000 South African children under age thirteen are HIV positive; o about 1,700 people are infected every day, two-thirds of them between the ages of fifteen and twenty; o 7000 babies die of AIDS- related illness every month; o AIDS will be the leading cause of death in South Africa within three years; o half of adults in South Africa can expect to contract the virus during their lifetime; o Life expectancy will plummet from sixty years in the early 1990's to about forty years in 2010" (McClelland 2). o According to the article, "In South Africa, only the funeral industry is booming" by Colin McClelland, the increasing rate of HIV / AIDS in the country is a very disturbing issue on the mind of Thabo Mbeki, the current President of South Africa. As a result, there are ongoing procedures to limit the HIV / AIDS rate.

This year, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa is trying to turn things around in his country by contributing more money into handling the crisis. Also, the South African government has promised to double spending on AIDS to one billion rand, equivalent to about 150 million Canadian dollars (McClelland 1). In addition, the article "Older Men Spread HIV to Teenage Girls in Africa" discusses how HIV / AIDS is increasing in the Sub-Saharan region. According to Sandra Key and Daniel DeNoon, a study of HIV / AIDS in Lusaka, Zambia, found that there are HIV infection rates of 15-23 percent among girls fifteen to nineteen years, 26-40 percent among men aged twenty-five or more, and 3-4 percent among boys aged fifteen to nineteen years of age (Key and DeNoon 1). After the study, their conclusion was that girls are getting infected not by boys their own age, but by older men, according to Peter Pilot, executive director of the joint United Nations Program. Also, the study showed that young lives are being cut short through sex which all too often is forced, coerced or 'bought' with sugar-daddy gifts, which is older men buying things for young girl for sex in turn.

The problem with this particular issue is that the older men rape and have unprotected sex with these young girls. The transference of the disease from mother to child is the greatest factor of the rapid growth of HIV / AIDS in the region. Due to the high illiteracy rate in the rural villages in the region, most of the villagers cling to their traditional beliefs; thus when the death rate increases, then it means the god of the land is punishing the village for being disrespectful and refusing to pay their dues to him, which is normally libation pouring. Witch doctors in various villages believe the only way to get rid of this deadly curse (HIV / AIDS) is for the infected males to have sex with virgin girls. This concept has caused a horrific increase in child-rape cases across the region (McClelland 2).

When these girls are raped by men with HIV / AIDS they also become infected with the disease, and are sometimes impregnated. These helpless girls have no choice but to deliver an HIV / AIDS positive child, usually resulting in abandonment of the children in orphanages. Furthermore, another factor leading to the increasing rate of HIV / AIDS in the sub-Saharan region is poverty and the lack of economic assistance. An article in the Nation journal published on August 7th 2000, discusses the issue of how poverty and HIV / AIDS are related. A statement in the editorials said, "Throughout the world, poor people are more likely to contract HIV and once infected, are quicker to die". Also, accompanied by the editorial, was an address by South African Justice, Edwin Cameron, who is HIV-positive, "My presence here embodies the injustices of AIDS in Africa, because on a continent in which 290 million Africans survive on less that one US dollar a day, I can afford the monthly medication costs of 400 US dollars per month.

I am here because I can afford to for life myself" (Nation editorials 1). Also, the article "Joint Epidemics Poverty and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa" by Desmond Cohen discusses in detail, how poverty is directly linked to HIV / AIDS in the sub-Saharan region. The poverty rate is also one of the major factors of the increasing rate of HIV / AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Cohen's study also states that, the characteristics of the poor are well known, as are some of the causal factors that contribute to a culture of poverty: children of the poor often become the poor of succeeding generations. Poverty is also associated with weak endowments of human and financial resources, such as low levels of education, low literacy rates, few marketable skills, poor health status, and, consequently, low labor productivity (Cohen 2). Proposed Solutions After analyzing the seriousness of the problem, I will now discuss the solution and their effects.

Also I will focus on one of the solutions, which I believe is the best. The question is, is anything being done to stop this increasing rate of HIV / AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa? The answer is yes. There are numerous ongoing procedures to solve this problem. In each of the mentioned articles, the researchers proposed or studied solutions that would be the best, to limit or eliminate HIV / AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

Contribution of money into the region In the article "Joint Epidemics Poverty and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa", the solution proposed was for developed countries to help by contributing money into the economy of these various countries. This is a very good idea, but in my opinion this would not be the best of the solutions to the problem. Pumping money into the economy would only decrease the poverty rate in oppose to limiting HIV / AIDS rate. This means that the problem would still be there because the people might be living well, but would still be ignorant to the preventions of the problem.

So I believe decreasing the poverty rate only eliminates a minor sector of the problem. There would still be low literacy rates, low levels of education, and few marketable skills. Contributing money without addressing other factors of the problem would only make the main problem worse. The drug Nevirapine Furthermore, the solution proposed in the article "In South Africa, Only the Funeral Industry is booming", was nevirapine, a drug giving to patients of HIV / AIDS.

Nevirapine, a drug which dramatically lowers the transmission rate between mothers to child has been a necessary drug needed to limit the rate of mother to child HIV / AIDS. The South African government also promised to provide nevirapine for HIV positive pregnant women and other antiretroviral drugs for all sexual assault victims by the year's end (McClelland 1). Through all these efforts to limit the crisis, the question on the minds of most citizens in South Africa is; if the drug would solve the entire problem? According to McClelland, the answer is no, nevirapine might prevent a decline in a child's health, but it would still leave them an orphan. I have to say I agree with McClelland on his answer because if these children are born healthy but with parents who die during their infancy, leaves them orphans. This only increases the number of orphans and that in turn would create another major problem in the country.

Massive amount of money and manufacturing generic medication Of all the proposed solutions, the best ones would be the ones present in the article "Aids in Africa". The suggested solutions were that, developed countries should facilitate the manufacturing and sale of generic version of AIDS drugs, WTO (World Trade Organizations) should lift the restraints on sub-Saharan countries so they can also begin to manufacture generic treatments for their HIV / AIDS patients, and loan capital to build healthcare systems for long term drug therapy, educative programs on HIV / AIDS, and the support for orphans to have the opportunity to attend schools. In my opinion these solutions would work best because they tackle every aspect of the problem. First, if developed countries minimize the prices on their medications, it would give the poor the ability to buy medication. Secondly, if the World Trade Organization lifts the restrains of the sub-Saharan countries, they would be able to manufacture their own generic medications with the help of dedicated developed countries.

This would decrease the death rate due to HIV / AIDS by 50% at least. This is true because some developing countries have had the chance to produce their own medications and it has helped their HIV / AIDS patients a lot. Brazil is one country that responded to the high cost of HIV / AIDS medication by manufacturing their own. "Brazil cut down their HIV / AIDS death rate by half and also drove down prices of imported drugs through domestic competition" (Aids in Africa).

And last but not the least, if capital is loaned to these countries, it would widen then the chances of decreasing HIV / AIDS in the region. For instance, the money could be used to build, more hospitals to shelter the patients, orphanage for the orphans, schools for the low literacy rate, and finally educative programs for people in need, especially for the men on the importance of practicing protective sex. Conclusion HIV / AIDS is a crisis that sub-Saharan countries will not be able to care for their patients like Western countries such as the United States until they decide to offer assistance. Even though there are ongoing procedures to limit the high rate of HIV / AIDS in the sub-Saharan region and other African countries, there are more and more people in Africa dying of HIV / AIDS. This is an issue that sub-Saharan African countries can not handle by themselves.

Due to the low economic status of sub-Saharan Africa, Educative programs needed to teach most sub-Saharan Africans on HIV / AIDS are not present. Therefore sub-Saharan African countries need the assistance of the developed and economically stable countries. Bibliographies "AIDS in Africa". Editorial. Nation 11 November 2002. Cohen, Desmond.

"Joint Epidemics Poverty and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa". Harvard International Review 23.3 (2001): 54.11 November 2002. Key, Sandra W, and Daniel J DeNoon. "Older Men Spread HIV to Teenage Girls in Africa". AIDS Weekly Plus (1999): 20.11 November 2002. McClelland, Colin.

"In South Africa, Only the Funeral Industry is Booming". Canadian Medical Association Journal 167.5 (2002): 526.5 November 2002.