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HIV/AIDS in
Africa
*24.5
million people currently living in Africa with HIV/AIDS
*2.7 million new cases
in the past year
*2 million killed in
the past year
Map Source
Major Impacts of
HIV/AIDS
1) Life expectancy
Graph Source
2) Family: If the
“bread-winners” of the family become ill,
then there will be no income. Also, those
that are supposed to be making a living may
not be able to if they are forced to stay
home and care for the sick individual.
Furthermore, there are oftentimes multiple
members of households that are sick. This
leads to the sick caring for the sick – not
everyone will get the care they need. Also,
children frequently get the disease from
their parents. Or, they might have been
orphaned by AIDS -- and in the process had to
watch their parent suffering. Family
structure is affected in this way because
children will be left caring for other children.
Picture:
African
family
Source
3) Healthcare:
Healthcare workers are getting the disease
at the same time that more healthcare
workers are needed! This means, among other
things, that there aren't enough workers to
distribute medications. Also, there will be
a decrease in care available for
opportunistic infections
4) Education
Picture:
Education and HIV -- A vicious cycle
Source
5) Labor & Economy:
AIDS has a domino effect (as shown in the
family and education impacts). AIDS
prevents people from working, which harms
the economy. If the economy is sufficiently
weakened, it makes the country less able to
cope with the problem. The vast majority of
people with AIDS are between 15-49 years old
– the working class! The increased
mortality rates also results in a smaller
skilled population and labor force. The
increased sick leave for those that are
sick, and for their families, decreases
productivity as well. Finally, if there is
less of a taxable population, there will be
reduced resources available for public
expenditures like AIDS education.
Essentially, AIDS = loss of income +
higher medical bills. Interestingly, there
has been a correlation found between lowered
life expectancy and the lowering of the
gross national product.
Picture:
African people digging graves for those
killed by AIDS
Source
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UNAIDS/WHO
United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS
World Health Organization
More than 75 countries involved
through these two organizations with the mission of
uniting the world against AIDS.
Prevention of HIV
Key components
-Condom use
-Counseling/testing: VCT
(voluntary counseling and testing centers)
-Treatment for mother/child
-Treatment of HIV/AIDS
-Antiretroviral drugs (ARV)
*Senegal is a good example of
how effective early and sustained prevention efforts
can be. Less than 1% of Senegal’s population has
HIV/AIDS. Uganda also is a good example. They went
from 15% to 5% of the population with HIV/AIDS in
about ten years.
Picture Source
What’s necessary for
improvement?
-4 main things that need to be
accomplished
1) Gain international support
-The WHO has a set a
target for everyone to have access to treatment by
2010
-The US is helping via
PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief)
Logo Source
2) Ensure a domestic commitment
3) Reduce stigma/discrimination
4) Focus on women/girls and
gender inequality issues
How about some numbers?
-Countries with 5-10% of
population infected:
Kenya, Uganda
-Countries with 15-20% of
population infected:
South Africa, Zambia
Countries with over 20% of
population infected:
Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland,
Zimbabwe
South Africa is a good example
to look at because it is a wealthy country with a
significant HIV/AIDS burden.
Picture: South Africa
Source
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