The Aids Epidemic Of Botswana

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.

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

When visiting South Africa, I was intrigued at the beauty of the country, but was also curious as to how the country was dealing with one of Africa’s largest problems, AIDS/HIV. With the AIDS epidemic having started over 25 years ago, the disease continues to affect the population of Africa, especially South Africa, the nation with 5.6 million people living with HIV, the most in the world. Much of South Africa’s history of struggle with the virus is attributed to misinformation given by Thabo Mbeki, a former president, who “questioned the link between HIV and AIDS” and his former health minister who misled the nation with ideas that the virus could be treated with “beets and

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).

The AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, consisted entirely of deaths, illnesses and most of all fear, changing the way society viewed gay men. Being that it was only happening to homosexuals and everyone became super homophobic and believed that the disease was a cause of being gay until it started happening to women too. This affected the entire medical metaphysics in society on what is considered safe methods of having sex and health precautions as well. Before the 1980s hit HIV was thought to originate form Kinshasa which is in Congo. In the 1920 HIV crossed between chimpanzees to humans on the Democratic Republic of humans.(Avert 1). AIDS is caused by HIV and is the last stage of HIV and can lead to death. It attacks every single

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.

It is believed that HIV originated in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo around 1920 when HIV crossed species from chimpanzees to humans. The first time HIV was presented, it was unknown and not presented to heterosexuals as a disease because people thought it was a disease specified for homosexuals. Within the history of discovering HIV, different groups were targeted and subjected to the virus unlike others. This misconception still carries on in the Orangeburg community, but the targeted group today is black males and

June 5, 1981 became known as the date of the official onset of HIV/AIDS epidemic when a Doctor released the stories of Patient Zero and four other cases to the Centers for Disease Control (Gottlieb, 2006). Doctors around the United States start recognizing AIDS cases. There were a total of 164 cases reported between 1979 and 1983, with 60% of those cases being reported in 1983 alone. The highest risk groups were homosexual men at 71%, drug users at 17%, Haitians at 5%, and hemophiliacs at less than 1%. Europe reported the same groups at risk.

Increments of HIV and AIDS among populaces of various landmasses, world areas and nations create in various routes and at various levels. The contamination rates in exceptionally created nations, for example, Europe, Japan, Australia, and in Islamic nations are low, followed in a moment push by North and Latin America. The circumstance in sub-Saharan Africa is more awful. 1.1% of the total populace are contaminated. The rate in North Africa and in Europe comes to 0.3%, however in sub-Saharan Africa to 7.4%. Albeit just 13% of the world's aggregate populace lives in sub-Saharan Africa, 65% surprisingly overall tainted by HIV and 75% of passings brought on by AIDS can be found there. In the year 2003 37% of the populace in Botswana was tainted,

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.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the most serious HIV/AIDS epidemic in the world. In 2013, an estimated 24.7 million people were living with HIV, accounting for 71% of the global total. In the same year, there were an estimated 1.5 million new HIV infections and 1.1 million AIDS-related deaths. The second largest country most impacted by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa is Lesotho.

Democratic Republic of Congo is in Central sub-Saharan Africa, which is bordered by Angola and the South Atlantic Ocean. Being that the topic is on HIV/AIDS, HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system, inside the immune system it attacks cells that help fight off infections. If left untreated, it can lead to AIDS. The first discovered case of HIV/AIDS was discovered in Africa. Not just any place in Africa, an area named Democratic Republic of Congo. HIV/AIDS did not start with humans. It simply started with chimpanzees who had the infection, when hunters killed the chimpanzees for meat the disease spread to hunters and their families who ate the meat. Meaning that the disease, then became a sextually transmitted disease, and was still a disease that was spread through killing animals, and eating the meat. The disease was then spread to their blood, making the people who ate the meat and they had sex to get the disease. The first case was known to be discovered in the late 1940’s through a blood

The AIDS crisis has been a very controversial issue in the history of South Africa beginning in 1982. During this time South Africa has made a government transition from apartheid to a democracy. Since many national issues needed to be address, the AIDS crisis was pushed aside, leaving a pandemic in the process. Many factors have contributed to the issues including: poverty, social instability, high levels of sexually transmitted infections, the low status of women, sexual violence, migrant labor, limited access to quality medical care, and a history of poor leadership in the response to the pandemic. After three decades of controversy in South Africa dealing with issues involving the government, medicine, and conflict the country is still feeling the after-effect today regarding the largest AIDS pandemic.

The population of Botswana below the poverty line is 47% (CIA-The World Factbook-Botswana). Botswana 's people have very poor living conditions and many of the people do not have access to safe drinking water. After contracting the HIV virus, one 's immune system is much more susceptible to infectious diseases; these diseases are brought by the unsafe drinking water or the unacceptable living conditions. These more-susceptible people may catch infectious and fatal diseases. The poor people also have reduced access to health services. When Botswana 's HIV infected people are exposed to an unhealthy environment or unsafe water, they are very likely to be infected by diseases that their slowed immune systems cannot fight off. This results in many more deaths of AIDS infected people. Poverty can also cause more HIV transmission. It is common for young girls to have sex with men to get money to pay for schooling or food (AIDS in Africa). This is not right and is putting these young girls at risk of infection; young girls should not need money bad enough to have to get it from a man by having sex with him. Also, with poverty comes a lack of education, education about the horrors of AIDS and how to prevent it. There needs to be a solution for the half of Botswana that lives in poverty and does not receive a proper

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has become an epidemic for many underdeveloped regions. Although it does exist in the developed nations, it is more prevalent in places like South America, Asia, the island countries and most heavily of all Africa. There are many aspects to the problem of AIDS in Africa.