[Elizabeth Glacier Pediatric AIDS Foundation]
Government Initiative
It goes without saying that the commitment and active participation of the government are vital in containing the rapid outbreak of the disease. Political, religious and infrastructural predicaments have been the main reasons for the uncontrolled spread of AIDS in Africa. Religious inhibitions have also restrained some governments from undertaking a transparent approach in discussing sexual hygiene and implementing sex education at school level. However the success stories of Uganda and Senegal, two African countries, where the government undertook educational initiatives (behavioral modification) and actively promoted safe sex methods, serve to show the importance of a transparent, direct and timely intervention. In Uganda the HIV infection rates among pregnant women has dropped from 21.1% in 1991 to 6.1% in 2000. The ABC (Abstain, Be faithful, Condoms) approach promoted by the government proved to be very effective in containing HIV. [the Alan Guttmacher Institute]
The Role of NGO's
In the fight against a disease of such large scale it is imperative that a well-planned, cooperative strategy is evolved. Already many NGO's such as WHO, UNICEF, UNAIDS and other private agencies such as 'Bill Gates foundation' and 'Bristol-Meyers Squibb' are actively participating in promoting AIDS awareness education as a preventive measure, as well as funding for implementing anti-retroviral treatment measures for HIV infected people. Pharmaceutical companies have also started to participate more effectively in the effort to make the drugs accessible to every affected person. Behringer Ingelheim, the company that manufactures Nevirapine is supplying the drug free of cost while other companies like Glaxo have also reduced their cost. However there are still infrastructural impediments and "high level of administrative burdens," which hamper the effective reach out of the treatment programs, implying the need for a more methodical and penetrative strategy. [CBFC] This can only be achieved when there is a cooperative effort from the pharmaceutical companies, government, NGO's and other agencies that are working in the fight against AIDS.
Conclusion
The poor economic situation and the political instability in the African nations have made medical treatment unaffordable and unreachable for the majority of its HIV infected population. Poor management...
AIDS in Afica HIV / AIDS in Africa An Overview of how this Terrible Disease has Rampaged the Population in Africa and what might be done about it in the Future. The spread of AIDS has reached epidemic proportions on the African Continent. There are many factors that can be attributed to the spread of this phenomenon. Lack of modern health care facilities and trained medical professionals is often cited as a cause
HIV Infection A medical condition in which the immune system is destroyed by a virus called as Human Immune Deficiency Virus is known as HIV infection. The loss of immune function deteriorates the ability of the body to fight against various types of pathogenic infections (caused by harmful micro-organisms) (Quinn). The virus attacks the immune cells of the body which are basically the white blood cells (CD4 T cells) due to
Africa's Political Crisis Most African colonies became independent in the 1950s and 1960s amid hopes that this would be the prelude to an era of democracy and development (Cooper, 2002). By the end of the 1980s, Africa was plagued by instability, authoritarianism, poverty, war and famine. In some countries, the state itself had begun to disintegrate. There are many reasons for Africa's current state of political instability. For one, continuous rivalry between
A hemophiliac, young Ryan had contracted the disease through the infusion of blood resources that had long served as his life force; and then that life force, infected with HIV, failed him (Levitt & Rosenthal, 1999). As the young boy bravely faced the demons of the ravaging disease, friends, relatives and outpourings of public support and love marked his journey. Surrounded by his family, and new friends like the
HIV / AIDS Autoimmune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) first came to the public's attention in the United States in the early 1980s. In Africa, the cities of Rwanda, Zaire, Zambia and Uganda were decimated, and cases began cropping up all over the world. In rare blood samples dating back to 1959, antibodies to HIV were detected (Crowley, 1993, p. 46), and yet the virus did not seem to become a problem until
But the challenges facing the current South African health minister are not simply political: "Whereas HIV subtype B, the dominant subtype in western Europe and the U.S.A., continued to spread among men who have sex with men, HIV subtype C, the dominant subtype in Africa and Asia, started spreading in the general population in South Africa in about 1988. Between 1990 and 1994, there was an exponential increase in the
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now