Aids In Africa

The pandemic brought about by the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Africa has become a very popular topic among healthcare experts, and interestingly, also among U.S. policymakers. This level of attention is due to the high mortality rate of AIDS victims in the said region as well as the significantly low life-expectancy among those infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) – the pathogen that causes AIDS.In order to have a broader understanding about the topic four different kinds of literature related to the topic will be used to analyze the impact of the AIDS pandemic in Africa.Infectious Diseases EpidemiologyThe first source that will be analyzed is a reference book entitled, Infectious Diseases Epidemiology: Theory and Practice. This reference books deal with the transmission and control of diseases and it has a section dealing with AIDS/HIV.The authors were able to fully explain how AIDS is transmitted and also how to control the spread of the viru s. There is also a section that describes one of the most ambitious plans to significantly reduce the impact of AIDS/HIV in Africa.This source is valid and reliable as it is consistent with other sources that will be reviewed later in this study. Aside from that, the publisher, Jones and Bartlett in Massachusetts is a reputable publishing house.This source provides an overview of the AIDS/HIV problem in general and also provides information why it is very difficult to curb the problem of HIV infection in Africa. The discussion regarding transmission of the HIV virus will greatly increase awareness as to the kind of behavior that will lead to infection.The information that can be gathered through reading this source will help government officials to create strategies and enact laws that will make it harder for the virus to spread.This source is of great value to individuals, government or non-government agencies desiring to lend support in the fight against AIDS/HIV in Africa.This is because not only is the source an excellent reference guide for the epidemiology of the disease but it also provides useful information on what is being done to stop the virus from overwhelming the whole continent (Nelson & Masters, p. 869). There is a need to combine knowledge of science and knowledge of how to understand people.Life ExpectancyThe second resource that will be used for this study was taken from an article in The New York Times, entitled, Devastated by AIDS, Africa Sees Life Expectancy Plunge. The article provides a more tangible proof that indeed AIDS/HIV is wreaking havoc in Africa.It is one thing to simply know about the epidemiology of the disease and it is quite another to learn that infants born in seven African nations – those with very high HIV infection – could not expect to live beyond 40. Due to the catastrophic figures given, some of Africa’s politicians are saying that the numbers maybe inaccurate (Dugger, par. 7).But the report see ms to be saying that irregardless of the exact life expectancy number, there is widespread agreement that people are dying young inside the continent.One of the most information that could be gleaned from this article is the fact that people living in sub-Saharan Africa are not only dying young, their premature deaths increase the level of poverty in this region.The deaths of thousands of young men and women meant that there will be few people – especially those in the prime of their lives – who can contribute in the field of education, healthcare and various industries. This will cause a chain-reaction of events.For one there will be no strong and able bodied men and women who can spearhead the drive to eradicate AIDS/HIV and the reason is simple, many of them have died. If Africa continues to suffer from the AIDS/HIV pandemic, then it will not take long before the continent will destroy itself due to people living without hope.If the children are the future of a nati on then surely the AIDS pandemic is creating a bleak future for sub-Saharan Africa.This is a valid source of information because it came from a reputable source – The New York Times.Moreover, the information that can be gathered from reading this text supports many of the findings reviewed from other sources. Aside from being accurate, this resource is a valuable source of information because it focuses on falling life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa. This will help African politicians as well as their policymakers map out strategies that will help solve the problem.PEPFARThe official website of â€Å"The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief† (PEPFAR) will be the third resource for this study. The site offers a wide array of information regarding the AIDS/HIV pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa.The site talks about the reason behind the creation of PEPFAR and what it hopes to achieve in the long run. PEPFAR is US-based and appears to be one of th e most important achievements of the Bush administration. This is a reliable source because it is a website created by the U.S. Federal government.There are also other U.S. government agencies that acknowledged the significance of PEPFAR and news agencies are also well aware of its existence.One of the most interesting facts that can be gleaned from the website pertains to the plan of former president George W. Bush to position the United States to lead in the fight against global HIV/AIDS. At the center of the plan is the need to focus resources on a region with one of the highest incidence of AIDS/HIV and this is sub-Saharan Africa.Aside from the lofty goals set by PEPFAR another interesting facet of this plan is the pledge by the U.S. government, to disburse billions of dollars of taxpayer’s money to help non-Americans, thousands of miles away.This was a daring move by the former president Bush who insisted that America is ready and financially able, to take a stand agains t HIV/AIDS. The former president authorized the release of a multi-billion package that will ensure that a significant part of Sub-Saharan Africa will be able to experience outside help. The huge amounts involved will signal to the rest of the world that America is ready.This resource is valuable not only because it provides an overview of the whole PEPFAR initiative. But aside from that, the website also provides detailed information with regards to the steps required leading to the creation of PEPFAR.The site also provides links that will help people discover how the president intended to finance a project that is so massive and so expensive that it is almost impossible for this Federal funded program to succeed.Corruption in AfricaThe fourth resource that will be used for this study is a book entitled, Corruption in Africa: Causes, Consequences, and Cleanups. The authors attempted to explain the unique circumstance that created a host of problems for Africa.Corruption in this sid e of the world was linked to power-hungry officials who used their position to enrich themselves. When it comes to corruption and the AIDS/HIV pandemic the common denominator is poverty, lack of education and the absence of government services that help worsen the situation in sub-Saharan Africa.This book is an excellent resource when dealing with factors aside from epidemiology and healthcare. It is very important that policymakers and strategists take a closer look at impact of corruption and why increasing the number of health workers and saturating the region with drugs will never be enough to solve the AIDS/HIV pandemic.The socio-political aspect must be considered as well. There is indeed a clear link between corruption and poverty and when these two are present it creates a social order where the government is inefficient and could not provide the necessary services that in turn will strengthen the capability of Africans to resist the AIDS/HIV onslaught.This is a reliable res ource because it is consistent with research findings used to support the three previous sources. For instance a good education will make it easier for health workers to explain the reason why sexual intercourse and the sharing of contaminated needles are two of the most important means to transmit the virus.If the people are well-educated then it is easy for them to understand the steps required to avoid those problems. But with corruption comes the inability to have access to good education and when the people are ignorant it will be easy for the virus to spread. AIDS in Africa The number of people living with Human Immune-Deficiency Virus (HIV) in Africa especially in Sub-Saharan part is quite big. More than half of the population is infected with HIV AIDS and the number of individuals being infected increases each day.It usually causes high death rates in children and adults. According to statistics, the number of those who are infected is quite high which is about 2.3 million adults and children (UNAIDS, 2006). The number seems to be dropping drastically which portrays that there has been a change of behaviour which has made the number to reduce and also the decrease can be as a result of increased mortality rate of those who are infected.The number of people who are most affected by AIDS are prostitutes and their clients homosexuals and most of individuals who inject themselves with drugs. In Sub-Saharan region HIV transmission is mostly experienced in most of heterosexual transmission in Africa most of the women are infected at early stages which incre ases the gap between men and women who are infected with HIV.In Africa, South Africa is the country which has the highest prevalence rate of individual who are infected with AIDS.According to epidemiological survey, it shows that the number of infected individuals in this country does not decrease and the main factors which have lead to this increase includes social instability, poverty, family disruption migratory labor system which leads to increased morbidity, sexual transmitted diseases are in increased levels in these regions, women lives in low status and sexual violence.The increased incidence rate of Aids in Africa has lead to a major economical problem which has made the country’s economy in most of Sub-Saharan countries to drop drastically and people in these regions to live under a lot of poverty.According to various statistics, most of the Sub-Saharan Africa countries drop economically with around 1-2% of the total economic status of the country annually. Most of the families with individuals who are infected with HIV AIDS live in total poverty than the rest of the household.This is because the level of productivity decreases drastically since individuals infected with HIV become weak and they are unable to carry on with their daily routine work.These individuals in most cases who are young eventually die leaving young children and the aged who are not able to work for their basic need. They are therefore left to depend on well wishers, government and other non governmental organizations for their living.Due to high death rates, it has also lead to great food shortage since those who work in farms are usually the young generation which is the group which is highly infected. This has lead to lack of essential labor which is needed in farm and therefore the family can result to use of finances which were not necessary to purchase food.In some Sub-Saharan countries such as South Africa, most of productive individuals such as those who work in v arious governmental organizations are dying of AIDS at a very high rate which makes the country to lost important people who are skilled and had a high potential of bringing revenue to the government.These usually pose a major drawback of the economic status of the country. When these individuals die, vital services are not delivered to the public and this can lead to loss of revenue that government could gain from these services.The main sector which is mainly affected by the high prevalence rate of HIV is the labor sector. This is because most of the individuals who are affected by AIDS are between the age of 15-49 which is the most productive age which is mainly the working age.When the labor of the country drops, its economic status is also affected this is mostly experienced by those individuals who are directly affected or infected by AIDS.When those people who are already trained for various job die because of AIDS, it means that factories, industries, schools and hospitals h ave to incur extra cost for training more skilled individuals who can replace them and those who can work efficiently (Cohen 1990). In order to facilitate this, these sectors have to use a lot of money which could be used for other purposes to boost the economic status of these sectors.Due to strong impact that HIV sets on labor force, in various enterprises and household, HIV has acted as a quite significant factor in drop of the economic development and growth of countries and also in individuals. It has played quite a vital effect in the economic development of Africa as a whole.Due to the fact that Africa faces a major economic drawback, it has made it quite difficulty for African countries to fight the epidemic. This is because the disease prevalence rate is quite high and the economic status of he country and individuals goes down which makes most of individuals not to afford the antiretroviral drugs (ARV) therapies which can help to reduce the prevalence rate of diseases.In s ome cases the productivity of infected individuals can be boosted by proper feeding and good diet, but in these Sub-Saharan countries, its quite hard for infected individual to have proper diet which will help in boosting the immune status of the body since there is no enough money to be supplemented in buying of food.Due to high poverty levels of those who are infected and their low economic status, the prevention methods which can be used to minimize high rate of disease infection are not quite applicable due to lack of money. This has increased the disease occurrence a lot since no prevention measures are taken and therefore transmission rate is quite high.This is mostly experienced in mother child transmission, since most of expectant women who are living in extreme poverty do not have money to attend the antenatal clinic and they usually end up delivering at home where there are no measures which are taken into consideration to prevent the disease from being transmitted to the child.In some cases, individuals who are infected with HIV also have high chances of being infected with other opportunistic infections which mainly affects individuals with AIDS such as TB. Due to their inability to access medical services due to lack of money, they get weak quite quickly and can result to death. In this case the economic status of the country drop due to lack of money.Most of the countries in Sub Saharan live under extreme poverty which makes them to lack basic access to education which is a major factor which can be used to alleviate poverty levels and boost the economic status of the country (Avert org, 2008). Those individuals who do not have basic education on the effect AIDS end up contacting it carelessly which increases transmission rate due to lack of knowledge about the impact the disease has on the society.Social impact of children and women in South AfricaSouth Africa is one of the countries in the Sub-Saharan region with quite a high prevalence rate of AIDS its estimated that around 15-20% of its total adult population is infected with HIV. The number of those individuals who are infected has greatly exceeded the number which was considered to be possible initially.There is no evidence of epidemic slowing in South Africa since around 4.9-6.1 million people in the country are infected with AIDS. Statistics carried out on 2004 showed that around 1-3 expectant mother are infected with HIV and since then gradual increase has been realized.