South Africa: Battling Against AIDS
Scientists have long been searching for the source of HIV. What they did not expect is that the virus would come from a chimpanzee in West Africa. The virus in the chimps called SIV, simian immunodeficiency virus, was transmitted to humans and believed to be mutated into HIV(The AIDS Institute). HIV, or the human immunodeficiency virus, attacks T-Cells in the body and uses these cells to make copies of itself. When HIV succeeds in destroying many of these T-Cells, the virus progresses to AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS.gov). The HIV/AIDS epidemic has spread all over South Africa, taking the lives of a quarter million people every year. The question is, what is the world doing to stop this?
In South Africa, 6.1 million people are living with HIV(UNAIDS); men, women, and children are all susceptible to this fatal disease. The infection is most prone to poverty-stricken areas and places where sex workers traipse freely(AVERT). The lack of jobs and widespread poverty leads people to turn to occupations such as prostitution to provide the basic necessities of life. According to AVERT, a foundation for Averting AIDS and HIV, prevalence of HIV amongst sex workers accounts for 34 to 69 percent of the people working in this field, depending on geographic region. Over three-fourths of sex workers are women who have no other occupational options. In 2012, an HIV survey found that the pervasiveness of the virus is two times more prevalent in women than that in men. New infections in women aged 15-24 accounts for twenty-five percent of all new infections while new infections in men account for only 6 percent of new infections. However, due to new developments, the situation will hopefully improve.
In South Africa, 6.1 million people are living with HIV(UNAIDS); men, women, and children are all susceptible to this fatal disease. The infection is most prone to poverty-stricken areas and places where sex workers traipse freely(AVERT). The lack of jobs and widespread poverty leads people to turn to occupations such as prostitution to provide the basic necessities of life. According to AVERT, a foundation for Averting AIDS and HIV, prevalence of HIV amongst sex workers accounts for 34 to 69 percent of the people working in this field, depending on geographic region. Over three-fourths of sex workers are women who have no other occupational options. In 2012, an HIV survey found that the pervasiveness of the virus is two times more prevalent in women than that in men. New infections in women aged 15-24 accounts for twenty-five percent of all new infections while new infections in men account for only 6 percent of new infections. However, due to new developments, the situation will hopefully improve.
Recently, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, and the South African government have created new ways to give everyone the treatment they require and slow down the transmission of HIV. This collaborative plan is called the National Strategic Plan 2012-2016 (New York Times). This program is focused on the United Nations AIDS Organization (UNAIDS) vision, "zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths” (AVERT). PEPFAR has donated more than three billion dollars to South Africa since 2004 treating and educating people about HIV/AIDS. The money has created chains of clinics specialized to treat HIV, opening opportunities for people to be tested before the virus has completely taken over. South Africa has the largest antiretroviral treatment for AIDS in the world, with more than 2.4 million people on the treatment for AIDS (New York Times). But that leaves more than 4 million people without treatment, not including the 100,000 newly infected people weekly.
In 2016, PEPFAR plans to lower the amount of money being given to the government to support the National Strategic Plan, leaving the government to pay for more of the plan (New York Times). The South African government currently pays for 83 percent of the treatment, but they struggle to do so. In future years, South Africa wishes to expand the HIV/AIDS treatment program to cover 80% of all people affected (PEPFAR) by increasing the number of access points for treatment and reducing the hindrance in healthcare systems. The government still has yet to make a move towards this goal due to the high cost, but the expectation is high that it will occur shortly.
In 2016, PEPFAR plans to lower the amount of money being given to the government to support the National Strategic Plan, leaving the government to pay for more of the plan (New York Times). The South African government currently pays for 83 percent of the treatment, but they struggle to do so. In future years, South Africa wishes to expand the HIV/AIDS treatment program to cover 80% of all people affected (PEPFAR) by increasing the number of access points for treatment and reducing the hindrance in healthcare systems. The government still has yet to make a move towards this goal due to the high cost, but the expectation is high that it will occur shortly.
Works Cited:
"HIV & AIDS in South Africa." AVERT. N.p., 08 Aug. 2014. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
Mcneil, Donald G. "AIDS Progress in South Africa Is in Peril." The New York Times.
"New HIV Report Finds Big Drop in New HIV Infections in South Africa." UNAIDS.
"UNAIDS." South Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.
United States. Bureau of Public Affairs. U.S. Global Aids Coordinator. Partnering to Achieve Epidemic Control in South Africa.
United States. Department of Heath and Human Services. What Is HIV/AIDS? Department of Health and Human Services, 29 Apr. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
"Where Did HIV Come From?" The AIDS Institute. Network for Good, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.
I found it interesting how PEPFAR is planning to lower amount of aid money in order to get the government to do more to stop AIDS. The prevalence of AIDS in Africa is much greater than in the United States, where it's not as big of an issue. I wonder how SIV got transferred to humans and mutated into HIV.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting that the original HIV virus came from chimpanzees. I wonder how the gay community is affected by this and what their statistics are?
ReplyDeleteMy main take away was that 3/4 of sex workers are women. I wonder how the virus got to humans through apes?
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you decided to go into detail about who HIV/AIDS affects the most and the reason for this. I also think its interesting how different the numbers are when comparing HIV/AIDS in Africa to the US. Do you think that PEPFARs plans will work?
ReplyDeleteI like how you gave an overview for what AIDs/HIV is before going into what the epidemic is in Africa. This reminds me of the epidemic occurring in Washington, D.C. were a majority of its African America population acquire the sexually transmitted virus. Do you think there is a correlation between the race of those with the virus and the virus itself?
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