Leading The Fight Against Aids Epidemic : Global Achievements Of Dr. Helene Gayle

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). AIDS weakens the immune system hampering the body’s defense mechanisms. AIDS is known to be a deadly disease, especially if it is not treated in a timely manner. AIDS and HIV is an epidemic that is increasing among the African American population with roots tracing back to Africa, AIDS and HIV needs greater exposure and more awareness within the African American community and in the homosexual community.

In addiction, when Chanda saw all of the doctors qualifications she was astonished to see that he had a remedy for AIDs. “‘He’s even cured folks of that other thing.’ My jaw drops. ‘You mean AIDS?’ At the sound of the word Mrs.Taffa chokes on her banana chips.” (Stratton 87) Chanda is not very cautious talking about AIDS unlike the people around her, as revealed from Mrs. Taffa’s reaction it is easy to see how all the other people react just as she had. They view AIDS as a taboo, its almost unspeakable in their eyes, but why has AIDS become such a taboo topic and how did that affect those living with

In human societies there will always be issues or problems that occur which cause some form of reaction from those who feel that their values or societal equilibrium is being threatened. Stanley Cohen and Jock Young led the way in explaining the notion of moral panics and how they are formed and their consequences on society. There have been numerous of these moral phenomena over the years, which have gripped society in a vice lock of terror and more often than not, ignorance. This essay will discuss the concept of the moral panic and look at the case of HIV/AIDS which caused a huge conflict of morality within society. This essay will also analyse the failings of health organisations, politicians, and the

HIV/AIDS has been responsible for one of the worst epidemics in history. In her book “The Invisible Cure” Helen Epstein details why Africa in particular was so devastated by the disease, which countries failed and which succeeded in the struggle to contain the virus, and why this happened. Epstein highlights a particular phenomenon, that first took place in Uganda, but which can be translated to many countries and situations, and which she calls “the invisible cure.”

“I have spent the last four years watching people die.” In his 2005 Massey Lectures, Stephen Lewis, a Canadian politician and humanitarian, caught the attention of millions with these words. Within these lectures, he shared his experiences of watching Africans suffer through the AIDS pandemic, and critically examined how the neglect of global communities and their discrimination contributed to its failure to resolve. While the rest of the world seemed to be unresponsive to an AIDS-ravaged continent, Mr. Lewis found himself passionately involved in the crisis and began to take action. Since his involvement with the United Nations in 1984, Stephen Lewis has tirelessly advocated for African citizens affected by HIV and AIDS, ensured that health care and treatment is provided to victims, and reached out to African citizens with education and counseling through his organizations. Through all of this, Stephen Lewis has proven to be one of Canada’s most influential humanitarian advocates for impacting the HIV and AIDS pandemic in Africa.

inevitable that AIDS would be defined in political and cultural terms as well as medically, and

In the documentary “The Age of AIDS,” FRONTLINE examines the outbreak of AIDS since its first diagnosed case in 1981. The film investigates different medical, political and social environments under AIDS pandemic in the US and worldwide. The film not only focuses on the scientific research and progress in treating the disease, it also looks at the social stigma, government strategies and public campaigns around different countries.

When the AIDS and HIV virus crept its way into the human-race, it quickly, and without warning, claimed the lives of millions. Then when its destructive wake had finally been abated, it left behind several untold mysteries. Throughout the course of this class, all the new material we have been exposed to has added some unique piece to the puzzle of the AIDS epidemic. Each puzzle pieces have ranged from speculations on how the AIDS epidemic had begun, to what exactly has the epidemic done. We have also tackled the question and how it forced a change in society. Our newest piece of the puzzle is the documentary “The Age of AIDS,” by William Cran. Although this documentary did not surprise me in its content, it did, however, affirm certain types

According to a report published in the February 1998 edition of “Nature”, scientists identified what they believe is the earliest case of AIDs in a man from the Congo in 1959. (Lerner and Hombs 39) By the end of the year 1980, 80 men would have been diagnosed with at least of the opportunistic infections that are a characteristic of AIDs. (Lerner and Hombs 40) AIDs cases in the 1980s increased dramatically not only around the world but in the United States, primarily in larger cities like Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco. The numbers of AIDs diagnoses and deaths spiraled out of control throughout the 1980s and towards the end of 1989 there were 117,500 cases of AIDS reported and 89,000 related deaths.(Lerner and Hombs 54) In the

In the 1980s, a mysterious disease began to take the lives of Americans. With the cause unknown, a fear grew among Americans. An unusually high rate of people was becoming sick with strange and rare diseases. When experimental treatments failed to work, people died. This mysterious disease is what we now know as HIV–Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In the past thirty-five years, the HIV has taken many turns in history. Although we do not hear about HIV and AIDS now, it is still a prevalent issue in the United States and in the world.

Mary attempted to bring attention to the quickly spreading disease to an uneducated audience. In her bold and inspiring speech, Mary argues the importance of opening the eyes of Americans and abolishing the hushed whispers of what AIDS really is.

HIV is the virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, commonly known as AIDS. HIV/AIDS has become one of the most destructive global pandemics in history. In 1990, the World Health Organization estimated that over one million people were living with AIDS, and in less than ten years, HIV had exploded worldwide (Perlin & Cohen). Johanna Tayloe Crane, a medical anthropologist, dedicated her career to studying the way political and economic inequalities influence how HIV/AIDS is researched and treated for in Africa. Crane complied over ten years of ethnographic research to study a HIV research partnership between a US university and Ugandan universities and clinics. Her book, Scrambling for Africa: AIDS, Expertise, and the Rise of American Global Health Science, unpacks both the American and Ugandan researcher’s and clinicians’ perspectives about the research partnership and critiques the U.S. response to the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Her findings reveal the paradox of health institutions and their global health research partnerships benefit from the inequalities they are trying to readdress. These global, economic, and scientific inequalities have allowed Global Health Science research partnerships to establish their own authority over Africa’s HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The movie, And the Band Played On, explores the origin of the AIDS virus and how it spontaneously spread across the world. The world was not prepared to handle such a contagious outbreak. Doctors and scientists assumed the first cases of AIDS to be just an abnormality of a certain disease. This film illustrates various significant points, such as the beginning of AIDS cases, the misconceptions that resulted, and the panic it aroused amongst doctors, common people, and the government. What is the most bothersome is the government’s carelessness of this matter, which largely contributed to the spread of this disease.

At the beginning of the outbreak when there was insufficient knowledge about AIDS, there were numerous false rumors spreading like wildfire about the syndrome. Such as that one could incur AIDS from just touching another, or misrepresenting AIDS as only a threat to homosexual men. This mindset caused many people to isolate themselves, especially those with AIDS, and to spread false knowledge. The mass false knowledge that was being spread all over the country created an obstacle for those with sexual illnesses then and sexual illnesses now. It created a stigma that surrounded those with sexual illnesses and continues to surround them today, even though society has become more accepting of the fact because there is supplementary information about the topic available

To begin, AIDS, also referred to as acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is a disease in which there is a severe loss of the body’s cellular immunity, which in return, greatly lowers the resistance to infection and malignancy. A virus known as the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, is a retrovirus that causes AIDS and allows for life threatening infections and diseases to thrive. AIDS was first identified in the early 1980s and it is now the leading infectious cause of death. Hence, aside from the twenty-five million people that have died since the 1980s, there are approximately thirty-four million people today living with HIV or AIDS. Those findings suggest that three million people become infected with AIDS every year, and about two million die from it each year. While the disease is transmittable through blood and sexual fluids, there is currently no cure or vaccine available to impede the course of the disease. That said, silence from the church can be deadly. It is