Hiv Infections In Africa example essay topic

HOW HAS THE SPREAD OF AIDS AFFECTED AFRICAN SOCIETY 1. Baer, Hans., et al. "Medical Anthropology and the World System". A Critical Perspective Ch. 8: p 159-269.2.

Stine, Gerald J. "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome... The facts written are by Gerald J. Stine in "Acquired Immune Deficiency syndrome". Worldwide, about 9,000 persons a day become HIV-infected. The majority of all HIV infections worldwide occur in people ages 15-24.

Over 1 million people die of AIDS each year. The number of HIV-infections worldwide has tripled since 1990! It is estimated that there will be a 20% drop in population in East Africa by the year 2001 because of AIDS (Stine, 360). "AIDS is the leading cause of deaths among adult men and the second leading cause of deaths among adult women in Africa" (Bethel, 13). "It is extremely difficult to judge the exact extent of AIDS in Africa, either geographically or in the population" so rather than just focusing on Western Africa, we should look at the bigger picture (Bethel, 138). Also, "we can assert that AIDS cases do not occur on the African continent in a uniform fashion but rather form an "AIDS Belt" in central, southern, and eastern Africa" (Bethel, 138).

First, Let me tell you that Third World Nations makeup three fourths of the Earth's population, and combining that fact with the fact that these worlds are not as advanced and have an lesser knowledge of prevention, and AIDS, it is not very surprising that these countries populations are impacted by death. "Africa, with about 12% of the world's population, is now reporting around 25% of the world's AIDS cases. It is estimated to have over 65% of the total number of HIV-infected adults and 90% of the world's HIV-infected children" (Stine, 364). An incredible and unbelievable fact that shows the impact of the disease in Africa is that 6,000 Africans are HIV-infected each day which is 250 persons per hour or four per minute. Between 20% and 30% of sexually active adults between the ages of 20 and 40 are believed to be infected with HIV in some urban places of sub-Sahara Africa, where the disease is felt the hardest. In rural areas, where the most of the people live, seriousness is much lower but is still rising.

Stine also mentions that available evidence shows that it is unlikely that the spread of HIV will ever be under control in the future (368). "The WHO estimates that one in three of the 40 million people in Southern Africa will be HIV-infected by the year 2010" (Stine, 366). About 66% of HIV infections occur in those under age 25. The ratio of men to women AIDS cases in Africa is 1: 1 which is really different from Western society where the ratio is 8: 1, males to females.

This 1: 1 ratio is said to be because of the African men's mentality of "taking" their women in a violent style of sex, where as white civilized men in the West do it in a more gentle way says Bethel (46). In Africa, the highest cases of AIDS is among sexually active heterosexuals. The women have a tendency to be younger than men and a high percentage are most likely prostitutes. Women in Africa get AIDS much more than in North America. Also, it looks like AIDS can be transmitted across the placenta from the infected mother to the fetus so there are much more children with AIDS in Africa than in the US. "In fact, children constitute almost one-third of all AIDS cases in Africa (Bethel, 139).

Like in the US, AIDS in Africa occurs much more frequently in large cities than in the rural areas. Finally, people who have the AIDS virus frequently have a history of venereal disease and are found to be more sexually active than people without the infection. Most of HIV infections in Africa are heterosexual, mother-to-child, and transfusions with unscreened blood. Also, prostitution and cultural sexual practices have a big influence in the increase of infection rates. Transfusions, though, are now being screened in a lot of major urban areas and because of that they are not as threatening as they were before. Homosexuality and i. vs. drug use are not associated with AIDS or looked at as factors in the passing of the virus.

This is not saying that they are not factors in the passing of the disease but that, at this time, not much is known about homosexuality in African countries. However, we do know that anal intercourse is considered dirty for a variety of reasons, including its connection with witchcraft, and is almost completely not allowed in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Without considering i. vs. drug use as a factor primarily because injected drugs are too expensive, we can not forget about the passing of the disease completely by needles. African patients often prefer needle injections instead of oral medication because they think its more effective. Also, the re-use of needles is not strange because theirs just not enough supplies for everyone which is obviously very dangerous and putting the people at a high risk. In addition, it has been common to reuse needles in vaccinating children.

Finally, ritual scarring also may be a part of the spread of the virus. Africa has a very high control rate among prostitutes in all countries. "Prostitutes are at high risk for HIV-1 infection and are recognized worldwide as transmitters of HIV-1" (Bethel, 149). Prostitutes, having many sex partners, are obviously at a greater risk, which explains why HIV and AIDS cases go from rural to urban areas. Many unmarried rural women had no way to support for their family making them leave to the city at a young age. Now the women have to survive in a place where they are not employed in wage labor or other jobs, so they become prostitutes to have money and live a life.

"AIDS first struck the labor concentrations in Uganda and then moved outward to the labor reserves, carried by migrant laborers and prostitutes as they return to their birthplaces for care and assistance with illnesses consequent to infection with this virus" (Bethel, 151). As a result, the virus is spread throughout small villages and urban communities. In studies of prostitutes in the town of Raka i, an area of major labor concentration, nearly 86 percent were HIV-1 positive. One study tested 535 Nairobi prostitutes in January 1985 and found that 348, or 65 percent of them were HIV-positive. Of the remaining 185, 2 years later 120 of them had become HIV-positive. So of the 535 prostitutes in 1985,504 or 94 percent, were HIV-positive by 1987.

Condom use with prostitutes is very rare. Only 23 percent of prostitutes say they have ever used condoms. The customers are said to refuse to wear one and there is a lot of competition from other prostitutes who will not use it, so to get more money they will do whatever it takes to make the customer happy. "It is clear that traditional sexual practices by African men, as well as the widespread custom of genitally mutilating a large part of the female population, are responsible for the different pattern of AIDS transmission" (Bethel, 46). Though, "the complex mesh of factors associated with the disease means that currently there is no way to ascertain the relative importance of the various methods of transmission" (Bethel, 49). For example, it is not known that a history of sexually transmitted diseases is a risk factor because genital lesions help the passing of HIV or because of exposure to unsterilized needles for treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

Altogether, 2.7 million children have died of AIDS since the beginning of this disease sent straight from hell. By the end of 1997, another million were estimated to be living with the disease, half of them were infected just that year. There is definitely a gap between rich and poor countries and their mother-infant AIDS rate. For example, in France and the United States, Less than 5 percent of children born from HIV women were infected.

While in developing countries, the average is between 25 percent and 35 percent. Breastfeeding practices and access to drugs for reducing mother-to-child infections are the two major reasons for this difference. "In developing countries, between one-third and half of all HIV infections in young children are acquired through breastmilk" (WHO, 48). There are three reasons for this. First, the mother likely has no idea that she is infected. Second, a woman may choose to breastfeed her baby regardless to protect the baby against many more other infections.

Also, it is allowed by most cultures, and it's free. And third, if artificial feeding is chosen, the mother must take chances on the water-supply that can give her child other deadly diseases. Fortunately though, developing countries are giving information about infant feeding to HIV-infected woman who are pregnant. In developing countries rather than Western society, their mentality is much more different. Western societies can prevent illness and death because of knowledge that Africans don't have. In developing countries, they worry more about living for today, which means that they face death from AIDS in five years from prostitution or death from starvation tomorrow from lack of money.

In a lot of cases, if the wife is worried and wants to use condoms, she is threatened with the husband leaving her for another woman. In that case, the wife would eventually have to go to the streets for money and that means beginning prostitution. This never-ending cycle of poverty and ignorance can only be broken by education, which still may not be enough. God help them!