The Devestation of AIDS in Africa

Today’s society is plagued with diseases and issues that concern us all. One of the biggest problems officials around the world are having, and have been dealing with for a long time now, is the AIDS epidemic in Africa. This disease has claimed millions of lives and has devastated a large portion of the country. Although this issue is widely known, more needs to be done to stand in the way of it spreading. The medications are too expensive and can only save the sick, the main focus needs to also be on prevention of the disease at all.

The epidemic of AIDS has created social criticism that has caused unjust levels of suffering and intolerance in Africa, resulting in societies turning a blind eye to the fatal effects that have had the detrimental outcome of having one of the highest rates of an infected population. AIDS is a terrible disease that has left its mark all over the world, but especially in Africa. This is a disease where there is a severe loss of the body’s cellular immunity, greatly lowering the resistance to infection and malignancy.

There is approximately 26 million infected individuals living in Africa. That number is grossly high and continues to grow. 91% of the infected children in the world live in Africa. AIDS itself usually is not the reason for someone’s death, if untreated the disease will weaken the person’s immune system so when they become infected with something else their body will not be able to fight it off and then they will die. There have been a lot of different theories about why Africa has astronomical levels of AIDS compared to the rest of the world. One of the largest theories was based around the idea that people have more sexual partners in Africa. Although this has been calculated and the level in Africa is slightly higher, the numbers do not differ enough from places such as the United States to be deemed as true. Scientist have also explored the fact that maybe the large spread could be due to the different sexual customs in the country, such as polygamy. The reason that seems the most logical is the fact that Africa is victim to nutritional deficiencies. Most of the country is in poverty and the citizens, especially the children, are not receiving the supplements and dietary needs that they must have to survive. Also, the health care in Africa is severely lacking. Usually the infected person either lives too far from a doctor or could not even begin to consider the treatment due to the payment.

This usually results in the individual waiting out the illness which could possibly result in death. If the leaders of nations around the world want to truly end the AIDS epidemic, they need to not only attempt to prevent it but they also need to make healthcare more available to the citizens of Africa. There needs to be more doctors around the country working with patients and putting them on a serious medical plan. There also needs to be shuttles that run back and forth from outskirt villages than can transport the ill back and forth to the nearest hospitals. AIDS is a serious disease that has had its hold on Africa for way too long, prevention and medication need to become much more available to the citizens. Africa has been fighting against AIDS for a long time now, but they have not been doing it alone. Other countries and nations have stepped up and has offered some of their resources to help the country survive.

The United States of America is one of the largest contributors. President Bush was astounded by the levels of AIDS in Africa and was determined to make a difference. In 2003 when Bush was addressing the State of the Union he said, “There are whole countries in Africa where more than one-third of the adult population carries the infection, yet across that continent, only 50,000 AIDS victims are receiving the medicine they need.” This statement was very impactful and showed the public the raw truth, after that speech he began to dive deep into the AIDS epidemic issue. Congress then passed President Bush’s bill, The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. This was originally created to help the victims of this disease and to send supplies over. Over time, the United States has spent over 50 billion dollars on this plan. The majority of that money has gone towards either testing people or treating people with AIDS. This bill has continued to be in action and has saved many lives, nearly 14 million people around the world now have access to the medication they require. There has been a lot of debate whether the United States has been making a mistake by dedicated large amounts of money to this cause but the reward is too great to ever see this plan as a bad decision. PEPFAR has advanced to the point where it not only saves affected individuals, but it also helps prevent the disease at all. The organization’s main focus is to not only to save current lives, but to save future generations of lives.

The United States of America has really gone out of their way to help support this awful disease, especially with the use of President Bush’s bill for PEPFAR. For awhile, numerous nations and individuals all around the world would turn their backs on Africa. Many people felt as if it was Africa’s problem to deal with and they were disgusted that it was even a problem to begin with. The country as a whole received a lot of criticism about how they live and the state of poverty in some areas. As time went on and the issue began to become more prevalent, more and more people started contributing to the cause. AIDS is not curable, but there are medications that help to reduce the affects. President Bush had the right idea when creating PEPFAR, the medication and doctors need to become more available. The price for this medication needs to drastically reduce so that it can be more affordable for the ill. There also needs to be more doctors and healthcare advisors sent over to Africa so that more people can be helped. There are also smaller contributions that anyone can do such as donating to AIDS foundations or helping people become more aware of this awful disease and how they can protect themselves from it.

People have even put themselves out there and participated in mission trips to Africa to visit the small villages and to assist the ill. AIDS is a terrible disease but with the help of everyone, this world can overcome it. Africa has been plagued with AIDS for decades. This disease has taken a magnitude of lives and has left its effect on a majority of the country. Although this disease is distributed all around the world, there is a high density of it in Africa which must come to an end. Many nations, such as the United States has helped take a stand against this epidemic but everyone must contribute so that the disease can eventually be controlled. The epidemic of AIDS has created social criticism that has caused unjust levels of suffering and intolerance in Africa, resulting in societies turning a blind eye to the fatal effects that have had the detrimental outcome of having one of the highest rates of an infected population.

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