Advantages And Disadvantages Of Hiv/Aids

Since its identification approximately two decades ago, HIV has increasingly spread globally, surpassing expectations (1). The number of people living with HIV worldwide is estimated to be 36 million, with 20 million people having died from the disease, giving a total number of 56 million being infected (1). In 2000 alone, 5.3 million people were infected with HIV and there is potential for further spread. HIV infection rates vary all over the world with the highest rates in Sub-Saharan Africa (1). Responding to this epidemic has been a challenge as infection rates have increased worldwide despite tremendous public health efforts by nations (1). The identification of potential interventions to reduce the magnitude of the problem has

There are an immense amount of problems in Africa caused by the AIDS disease. Healthcare providers are available and located all over Africa. Even though they are available, they have only “enough medicine for long-term survival available for 30,000 Africans” (Copson, 3).

In The Invisible Cure, Helen Epstein talks about why HIV/AIDS rate is so high in Africa compared to the rest of the world. Through the book, she gives us an account of the disease and the struggles that many health experts and ordinary Africans went through to understand this disease, and how different African countries approached the same problem differently. Through this paper, I will first address the different ways Uganda and Southern African countries, South Africa and Botswana in particular, dealt with this epidemic, and then explain how we can use what we have learned from these African countries to control outbreaks of communicable disease elsewhere around the world.

The infection rates of HIV in women ages 15-24 is approximately twice as high as men in the same age group. Access to sexual and reproductive health services in Africa is restricted by the gender inequality, stigma and discrimination in the face of high HIV/AIDS prevalence. The study is limited to 2 cities, Uyo and Calabar; major centers of HIV/AIDS response. Interviews reveal that large numbers of people, especially from rural regions, are improperly informed and unaware of the nature of HIV/AIDS. An outreach program displayed HIV prevention messages, but the signs were in English. Access to ART can be difficult. Poorer women cannot afford repeat visits to clinics. Societal issues are present; HIV/AIDS stigma is widespread and families will outcast individuals, denying them of any support. The study also showed a declining confidence in ART as a form of treatment. Respondents reported cases of those on HIV/AIDS treatment who developed further infections. The article displays the need for better education and programs to help people access treatment for

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS is a pandemic problem affecting global health. At the end of 2015, 36.7 million people were living with HIV/AIDS globally. The rate of incidence is more prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa with almost 1 in every 24 adults living with HIV/AIDS. In the united states, HIV/AIDS is a diversified health problem affecting all sexes, ages and races and involving the transmission of multiple risk behavior. However, with the introduction of various prevention programs and antiretroviral drugs, the incidence of HIV/AIDS has reduced.

In the sub-Saharan Africa, the majority of the population suffers from HIV leading to AIDS. The culprits responsible for this epidemic include the lack of knowledge about the disease, disuse of condoms due to religious practices and the overall poor hygiene. If left untreated, the rampant surge of AIDS can terrribly impact the cost of their healthcare, the African economy and the welfare of the people. This implications justify immediately finding remedies to what ails the sub-Saharan population.

Because of the risk factors involved in the correctional settings, I believe inmates should be tested for HIV. In details, Clark (2015) included the environmental and behavioral factors – overcrowding, sexually active individuals, lack of access to condoms- pose prisoners in danger of contracting HIV and other communicable diseases. In fact, Clark (2015) added that a study showed 90% juveniles engaged in HIV risk sexual activity and as much as 45% inmates were reported to be sexually assaulted. After investigating on the nature of the inmates’ situation, a population nurse should know what resources are available for them and realistic ways to treat them while incarcerated. Similar to what the Centers for Disease Prevention

If you look at how everything has developed since AIDS was first regarded as s major threat to public health in the beginning of the 1980’s it could be said that a lot of progress has been made. Not in a way where infected individuals around the world get the treatment they need or the developing countries get completely the support necessary, but today the world is closer to that goal than years before. This is important to outline because people tend to forget the progress been made, as they are only searching for a certain ending or result. The final solution to the dilemma between distribution of drugs to all people in need and the costly and continuous research required to find a cure, is not in reach [3].

In todays society, people are accustomed to believe what they hear from a higher educated professional. Often times conceptions from doctors are factual, yet the language used can easily confuse the average person. When information was first released about the AIDs epidemic, certain groups were targeted in negative ways. Homosexuals and social pariahs were concluded as the ones who could contract AIDs, and everyone else was deemed safe. At the time, this conclusion seemed logical to doctors because the majority of their patients fell into this category. Soon homosexuals were looked at in a negative light once the disease was named GRID or ‘Gay Cancer’. After physicians “alerted the medical community” (Reeves, 14) about AIDs, other clinicians

In 2014, 1.2 million people died from HIV and its related causes. In the same year, about 36.9 million people were living with HIV. Among these, 2 million were newly infected in 2014. The rate of infection has reduced by 35% between the years of 2000 and 2015. Between the same years, mortality due to HIV fell by 24%. The area with the most HIV/AIDS victims is Sub-Saharan Africa. In this region, 25.8 million people were living with HIV in 2014. The region also has 70% of the newly infected victims in the world. It is very unfortunate that more than 50% of people with HIV know that they have it. HIV testing efforts have improved with 150 million in 129 low and middle income counties getting tested. It was reported in 2015 that 15.8 million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy (World Health Organization,

Although HIV is no longer the automatic death sentence it was in the 80’s, it remains a thorn even in our modern societies. For instance, HIV treatment is exponentially expensive, and can only be afforded by residents in developed countries. In fact, most third world nations are still in the 80’s as far as HIV treatment technology is concerned. Fatality rates particularly in Africa are astronomical to say the least (Rensburg 267). With prices, for

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a chronic illness, however, for those with access to health care and treatment, it is a very manageable condition. Although it is no longer considered a death sentence in developed countries, it is still a highly stigmatized illness. The public may no longer perceive HIV as the plague it once was, yet there has been no decline in the number of new infections per year in the past decade in the United States (Catalan et al., 2000). Today, people are living longer with HIV due to the development of combination antiretroviral drug therapies (ART). ART has provided significant progress in treatment (Linsk et al., 2002). Treatment accessibility and medication adherence are crucial in order to continue manage the disease on both the individual and public level.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the majority of people in the world living with HIV/AIDS reside in Sub-Saharan Africa. Since there is currently no vaccine to prevent the spread of the infection, there have been countless attempts in the past to control the spread of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. There are multiple ways of infection spread in Sub-Saharan Africa. People are contracting the disease through, drug use, sexual relations, giving birth, and blood-to-blood contact. With so many ways to contract the infection it makes the prevention of spreading the infection so difficult, especially in such a low-income country. These challenges have not stopped many scientists, educators, and health-care professionals create interventions to try and stop the wildfire, that is the spread of HIV/AIDS in Sub- Saharan Africa. Most interventions have failed and some have helped. There are a huge amount of factors that need to be carefully thought about when creating an intervention. What looks good on paper may not work for the culture of a country. Making all people in sub- Saharan Africa listen, understand and act on a plan is nearly impossible.

“Everyday the HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to kill three times as many people than died during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001” (Elbe 2006, p.119). The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) weakens the immune system by destroying the cells that fight disease and infection. In the final stages of the HIV infection, it can lead to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Not all people who are diagnosed with HIV progress to acquiring AIDS, although once you have been diagnosed with the HIV infection, you have it for life. HIV/AIDS have claimed the lives of more than 39 million people globally since the discovery (World Health Organisation 2014) with a majority of these cases being in sub-Saharan Africa.

Although ninety-five percent of people living with HIV/AIDS are in developing countries, the impact of this epidemic is global. In South Africa, where one in four adults are living with the disease, HIV/AIDS means almost certain death for those infected. In developed countries however, the introduction of antiretroviral drugs has meant HIV/AIDS is treated as a chronic condition rather than a killer disease. In developing countries like South Africa, the drugs that allow people to live with the disease elsewhere in the world, are simply too expensive for individuals and governments to afford at market price.