The Epidemic Of Botswana, South Africa Essay

An unstable backbone can obstruct the re-establishment of public services in any given case; infrastructural problems are common in both the agencies and the state; and they can occur because the supporting foundations are weak and scattered. A common occurrence is a state 's’ hopes to fix several problems at a time. During the 2006 International AIDS conference, President Bill Clinton stated: "If you first develop the health infrastructure throughout the whole country, particularly in Africa, to deal with AIDS you will increase the infrastructure of dealing with maternal and child health, malaria, and TB. Then I think you have to look at nutrition, water, and sanitation. All these things, when you build it up, you 'll be helping to promote economic development and alleviate poverty." (Garrett 2010) However, existent cases of successful health care establishment have not proven economic development, like the case of Haiti in 2006, who despite combatting HIV, plummeted economically during the same period of time. (Garrett 2010)The reason why healthcare does not equal economic progress or poverty alleviation is because other conditions can still remain existent: lack of cooperative government, lack of absorptive capacity and corruption. Although, health and economy shall not be developed independently, one is not the causality of the other, health shall progress with “early detection of disease and education in principles of healthy living” (Beaglehole and Bonita 1997, 211)

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.”

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

The world as a whole should be mortified by what is happening in Sub-Saharan Africa. In places like Swaziland, Botswana, Lesotho poverty, crime and systematic corruption are the tinder for the fire that is the HIV epidemic in Africa.

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.

Africa has a history of facing many challenges, including starvation, poverty, Ebola and AIDS. AIDS, however, has become Africa’s biggest hurdle. Botswana, located in Southern Africa, has been hit the hardest by the AIDS virus with over 23% of its population contracting AIDS. In order to help fix the AIDS epidemic in Botswana, multiple things need to be reviewed, such as understanding how AIDS spread throughout Botswana, where the region currently stands on the AIDS virus, and the three solutions on how to prevent the rise in the spreading of the virus within the area. According to the website Avert, studies have shown that the most effective ways to help stop the spread of AIDS includes testing centers, intervention centers, and the distribution of more protective measures.

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.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been a major health concern due to its rapid ability to spread and high death rate. Although HIV can be found all around the world, it is most common in Africa. For decades, both sociologist and scientist have struggled to determine the specific causes that led to the wide spread of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. The novel The Invisible Cure: Why We Are Losing the Fight Against AIDS in Africa by Helen Epstein tells her journey as a molecular biologist trying to find a cure for HIV across Sub-Saharan Africa. Throughout her journey, Epstein is able to experience the various problems that the majority of people in the African continent face. The problems that Epstein encounters can easily be fixed, but because of the lack of effective government control in most areas they aren’t. Through cultural, political, and social factors, Epstein depicts the roots of the HIV outbreak and the possible cures that can be found within Uganda’s collective efficacy.

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.

On the flip side, this public fixation has led to a situation whereby AIDS and TB monopolise the funding pool at the expense of addressing other health areas. A look into the distribution of aid allocation within Botswana proves the case in point. In 2010, Botswana received more than 5 times the total amount of funding required for HIV/AIDS prevention. Its other health focus areas, by comparison, received little funding despite issues such as chronic and mental illnesses, as well as maternal healthcare, being the larger contributors to the overall disease burden within the

In this paper, we will analyze different models of state power and apply them to how the state approaches the issue of HIV/AIDS. We will examine the issue in relation to how the state uses sexuality to control and regulate its population. We will utilize Dean Spade’s principle of “population-management power” for such ends and contrast it with other models of state power and their shortages when we try to explain the state’s control over sexuality.

There has been countless conversations over whether AIDS warrants an exceptional response. As such, AIDS is exceptional, but not everywhere. Exceptionalism grew as a Western reaction to a once inadequately understood epidemic but is still relevant in the recent multi-dimensional worldwide response. The attack on AIDS exceptionalism has happened because of the extent of subsidy directed to the disease and the firmness that AIDS activists rank it above other health concerns. The strongest critics of exceptionalism claim that the AIDS response has undercut health structures and systems in developing countries.

Leigh Joseph, L. 2007. The Role of Local Government in HIV/AIDS. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 22 February 2017.
http://www.ngopulse.org/article/role-local-government-hivaids

If the AIDS population growth continues like it is, where does this leave Africa? By the

The purpose of this paper is to report on the situation in Malawi and the health of its citizens. Information gathered from several peer reviewed sources will be assessed in order to draw conclusions on the strengths and weaknesses of Malawi as a country. After a conclusion is drawn, depending on whether Malawi has been identified as a country with a strong economy and health system, or a country with a weak economy and health system, suggestions will be made for improvements. The type of suggestions made will vary depending on the situation in the country. For example, if Malawi is found to be in a healthy living situation by the end of the paper minimal suggestions will be made as to how the country can improve. If however, the country is found to be lacking severely on provision of necessities such as health service and a stable economy, then a more detailed list of improvement strategies will suggested for the benfit of the country and its citizens. Key metrics like the quality of health services, the economy, health issues, lifestyle corruption and so on will be assessed for the purpose of this paper.