The World Health Organization's Role in Fighting HIV/AIDS

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 50,000 people are infected with HIV each year. In 2010, the most recent year for which this information is available, there were around 47,500 new HIV infections in the United States (p. 1). The population of people with HIV is diverse due to the fact that it does not discriminate. Men and women of any age,

We have been aware of HIV and AIDS since the 1970s (Miller, 2012), and though there have been treatments and reduction in the number of people infected, the disease remains. The disease results in death usually following opportunistic infections as a result of AIDS destruction of the immune system, but thanks to modern medicine “many people

According to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1.2 million individuals in the United States have HIV (about 14 percent of which are unaware of their infection and another 1.1 million have progressed to AIDS. Over the past decade, the number of HIV cases in the US has increased, however, the annual number of cases remains stable at about 50, 000 new cases per year. Within these estimates, certain groups tend to carry the burden of these disease, particularly the gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men (MSM) and among race/ethnic groups, Blacks/African American males remain disproportionately affected. (CDC)

Bradley, et al. (2014) examined the continuum of services among persons living with HIV in the United States during 2011. Data was gathered and examined from the National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS) from the United States regarding improving the care and treatment of individuals diagnosed with HIV from 2011-2013. This data was significant because the finding could ultimately assist the government with reducing new infection and related illnesses and improving the rate of viral load suppression with the assistance of antiretroviral therapy (ART). According to the authors in 2011 in the United States an estimated 1.2 million individuals were living with HIV (Bradley, et al., 2014, p. 1113). Furthermore, the authors also stated

HIV is a global epidemic that has haunted our world for many years. In 1968, a 15 year old black male was hospitalized and died from complications of Kaposi Sarcoma. This is the earliest diagnosis of HIV in North America. The purpose of this paper is to identify Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and describe its history, character, determinants, epidemiological triangle, and demographic of interest. Within this document the reader will learn the community health nurses’ role in case finding, reporting, data collecting, data analysis and follow-up. The reader will learn about the chain of infection and the epidemiological triangle and how to prevent contracting the virus and care after diagnosis. Resources for people living with HIV will

Haiti was able to dramatically reduce its high rates of HIV/AIDS prevalence in the face of low socioeconomic development and declining Gross National Income (GNI) per capita because its existing NGO-based system for HIV/AIDS prevention was scaled up through international technical and financial assistance. The two leading NGOs in this effort, Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi’s Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections (GHESKIO) and Partners in Health (PIH), were created at the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, but initially focused their efforts on treating the side-effects of the epidemic due to a lack of access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). HIV/AIDS thus spread rapidly amongst the population, reaching a peak incidence rate of 4% in the 1990s, and it was not until the early 2000s, when the organizations gained access to antiretroviral drugs through international assistance, that HIV/AIDS prevalence rates began their decline.

HIV is a disease that in becoming a larger a larger topic of conversation in the US. HIV was originally considered an epidemic in the early 1980s. (CDC, 2016). Since the identification of the epidemic, education and preventative measures have significantly dropped statistics, however there is still much progress and awareness of the disease that it needed. Approximately 36.9 million people in the world are currently living with this disease in 2014 and worldwide there is approximately 2 million new cases each year. (AIDS.gov, 2014). To put some perspective on the epidemic in terms of the United States the incident rate is approximately 50,000 new cases and the prevalence rate is 1.2 million. (CDC, 2016). There has been a significant drop in

HIV/AIDS has affected individuals from various walks of life all over the country but over the past decade this disease his greatly impacted the southern region of the United States. Over the years studies have been conducted to determine the contributing factors for this increase of HIV/AIDS rates in the South. Research findings have produced similar conclusions such as high rates of poverty, lack of education, and social stigma as contributing factors to the increased HIV/AIDS incidences in the South. The findings also have concluded that African Americans are the largest ethnic group greatly affected as being

HIV/AIDS is a significant public health concern and a leading cause of death in many parts of Africa. Although Africa is home to about approximately 15 percent of the world's population, the same region is the world's epicenter of HIV/AIDS. The numbers are overwhelming as adult HIV occurrence is 1.2 percent around the world but it is approximately 9.0 percent in sub-Saharan Africa. UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS) estimated that at the end of the year 2001, there were 39.8 million people living with HIV/AIDS, 28.5 million of them from sub-Saharan African alone. Another 4.9 million adults and children were newly infected with HIV/AIDS in the year 2001, 3.5 million of them from sub-Saharan Africa. An estimated 3 million people died from AIDS-related causes in 2001 and of these deaths, 2.2 million were among sub-Saharan Africans. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for an assessed 71.3 percent of all individuals living with HIV/AIDS and approximately 70 percent of all total AIDS deaths in the year 2011 alone (AVERT).

Globally, there is good news. In 2011 the World Health Organization (WHO) claimed that the HIV/AIDs epidemic was declining in their “Global HIV/AIDS Response” progress report (Progress Report 2011). Each continent and region, however, showed different changes in their rates of HIV/AIDS (Progress Report 2011). In North America, and specifically in the United States, the incidence of HIV has been constant for the past several years (Progress Report 2011). Despite the stability of this disease, the proportions of who is becoming infected are alarming (Progress Report 2011).

At the end of 2011, an estimated 1.2 million people aged 13 and older were living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that approximately 50,000 people are newly infected with HIV each year (CDC, 2013). Fortunately, after more than 30 years of research on HIV, much progress has been made in fighting this disease. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) transformed what was once a death sentence into a manageable disease for individuals with drug-susceptible viral strains, who have access to antiretroviral drugs, and are compliant with their prescribed therapy. ART not only prolongs life, but also dramatically reduces the rate of HIV transmission (Deeks et al., 2012). Unfortunately, substantial challenges exist to maintain access to and funding for lifelong ART (Dolin et al., 2009; HRSA, 2012; Lewin, 2013), standard therapies do not fully restore health or a normal immune system in HIV-infected individuals, and patients still experience comorbidities, such as increased cardiovascular diseases, bone disorders, and cognitive impairment (Deeks et al., 2012; Hsue et al., 2012; Phillips et al., 2008). It is possible that these HIV-associated complications are due to the toxic effects of treatment or the consequences of persistent inflammation and immune dysfunction (Katlama et al., 2013). Therefore, the International AIDS Society (IAS) convened a team of more than 40 scientists

According to the latest statistics from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), globally, “there were 35.0 million people living with HIV in 2013, up from 29.8 million in 2001 (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.)” Furthermore, seventy one percent of people living with HIV can be found in Sub-Saharan Africa, even though the total population of the region makes up only 17% of the world’s population. Over 6 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa, and 27.4% of Swaziland’s population has been

Although HIV/AIDS is on the rise together, we can put an end to the increasing numbers. Globally HIV/AIDS is growing rapidly by the end of 2015 the number of people infected and diagnosed could beat any of the previous year’s records. Shockingly enough, this statistic even stands true for our home state Kansas. These numbers may be rising because more people want to know their statuses and are becoming aware of the dangers hidden in this deadly virus. On the other hand, people may be living more risky life styles, foolishly thinking they are above catching HIV. Regardless of the reason, the numbers are too high when the quantity of new cases should be actively decreasing.

The emergence of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and the prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the early 1980s initiated widespread global panic, but not every nation took action to combat the pandemic. Control of this relatively young disease process has been addressed in different ways in countries worldwide. Depending on the cultures of the region or the political system in place, some have made tremendous strides to reduce infection

During the 1980’s, a very devastating infectious disease broke out in America, which is now known as the Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Aids have been one of the most damaging and destructive diseases in history. The only reason behind the spread of the deadly disease- AIDS is lack of knowledge which has resulted in growing number everyday. “UNAIDS estimates that as of December 2000, there were an estimated 36.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS (34.7 million adults and 1.4 million children under 15)” ("AIDS Information, Education, Action, Awareness | How Many People Have HIV and AIDS?" AIDS Information, Education, Action, Awareness | How Many People Have HIV and AIDS? Web. 1 Nov. 2015). Aids has become a worldwide