Impact Of HIV / AIDS In South Africa

In South Africa, AIDS is one of the top causes of death. South Africa has the biggest AIDS/HIV epidemic in the world because of violence against women, poverty, and lack of education. Given this, “Africans account for nearly 70% of those who live with HIV and are dying of AIDS” (Morgenstern, Dr. Michael).

resources to test well known epidemics such as HIV. The spirit for globalization in South Africa

Nearly three decades ago, there was an increase in deaths of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Developing countries have experienced the greatest HIV/AIDS morbidity and mortality, with the highest prevalence rates recorded in young adults in sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa over three million people are killed by this disease (Macfarlene3). After this epidemic spreaded in Africa and killed people it branched out to other countries in the world.

It is clear that South Africa’s changes in treatment and attitude of HIV/AIDS has moved the nation forward as a whole. Although there has been much progress made, “About 3.5 million South Africans still are not getting therapy, and many wait to long to come in to clinics or don’t stay on the drugs” (Lubock 17). Improvements on clinics will continue to be made throughout the country and the new “three-in-one” treatment tablet should prove effective within the next year for more modern and cost effective treatment and prevention for pregnant mothers. World AIDS Day has proved to be a powerful day for the future of South Africa as a nation.

Did you know “AIDS is the leading cause of death in Africa” (Quinn, online). Twenty percent of Africa’s population has died from AIDS. Poverty is a big problem in Africa. Men have been forced to become migrant workers in urban areas. And antiretroviral treatment at this time is not available to African people. AIDS is a big problem in Africa today that is now requiring help from the world.

The low income due to HIV/AIDS leads to low consumption of goods and little savings, which results in malnutrition, inability to combat illness and a lack of education and skills. The low capital worth, low

Despite the government’s best efforts to downplay the HIV epidemic that was beginning in South Africa, the disease began to spread throughout the general population in the late 1980s. In 1988, cases of seroconversion started to appear in individuals outside of the MSM community; each year, between 1988 and 1994, saw a doubling of HIV prevalence. As of 1990, the dominant mode of transmission for HIV switched from homosexual to heterosexual intercourse, creating an epidemic among the citizens of South Africa. At the same time, the rate of mother-to-child transmission was on the rise. Throughout the escalation of the HIV epidemic in South Africa, the apartheid government took a hard line stance on HIV and AIDS, calling it a ‘black disease’ and refusing to invest resources to combat the spate. Rather, it continued to use fear tactics and stereotyping to reinforce the ‘typical’ HIV-infected individual, targeting MSM and black populations in country-wide campaigns. Any attempts at preventing the spread of disease were usually thwarted by a lack of infrastructure in the local governments and provinces, with each area attempting a different strategy to combat HIV infection.

HIV disproportionately effects those living at or below poverty level. For many, lack of employment or underemployment can also mean a lack of insurance and access to consistent medical

This epidemic leads to a high mortality rate as well as a lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality

In 2011 there were an estimated 23.5 million people living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. 1 This rate has increased since 2009, when an estimated 22.5 million people were existing with Aids, as well as 2.3 million children. 2 In 2012, more than 1.1-million individuals were believed to have dies from AIDS-related

has approximately seventy percent of the people living with HIV. In 2011 there were 23,500,000 people living with HIV, and 1,200,000 annual AIDS deaths. The new HIV infections are 1,800,000 annually. (1) This disease is world wide and not just isolated to Sub-Saharan Africa, however, with the data from researcher's it does have the highest prevalence of the disease. There is world wide efforts in combating the spread, and research that is ongoing to try to irradiate this terrible disease. This disease may cause the extinction of mankind if we as a society are unable to control and find a cure. There are so many factors that play a role in the process of this disease, but the issues of poverty within the HIV population needs to be addressed.

-Economic impact by HIV on health care system occurs in different stages like market failure in providing health care, treating opportunistic infection caused by aids, treating underlying virus HIV, and implementing HIV/AIDS awareness programs. Economic impact by HIV on patient and community occurs in different stages of loss of productive working hours, high medical care costs, creation of social barriers.

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.

Currently in South Africa there are 5.26 million people living with HIV. This means that 10% of the South African population is directly affected by the virus and requires us to ensure clear guidelines are in place for the management of HIV (Statistics South Africa, 2013).

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the world that is most affected by HIV/AIDS. The United Nations reports that an estimated 25.4 million people are living with HIV and that approximately 3.1 million new infections occurred in 2004. To put these figures in context, more than 60 percent of the people living with the infection reside in Africa. Even these staggering figures do not quite capture the true extent and impact that this disease causes on the continent. In 1998, about 200,000 Africans died as a result of various wars taking place on the continent. In that same year, more than 2 million succumbed to HIV/AIDS (Botchwey, 2000).