A Perspective of Poverty and HIV on Sub-Saharan Africa

Due to gaps in policy oversight, the percentage of minorities living with HIV and AIDS in the United States remains high. It has remained high due in part to policies that were implemented during the early 90’s, emblematically The Ryan White Care Act, along with in policy makers for their failure to recognize the special needs and factors that pertain to minority groups, specifically African Americans and Non-white Hispanics. The racial disparities that have historically plagued these minority groups were initially overlooked in the policy making and implementation process. In turn, it is no disheartening wonder that certain figures and data are now representative of the minority demographic; example:

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.

Although ninety-five percent of people living with HIV/AIDS are in developing countries, the impact of this epidemic is global. In South Africa, where one in four adults are living with the disease, HIV/AIDS means almost certain death for those infected. In developed countries however, the introduction of antiretroviral drugs has meant HIV/AIDS is treated as a chronic condition rather than a killer disease. In developing countries like South Africa, the drugs that allow people to live with the disease elsewhere in the world, are simply too expensive for individuals and governments to afford at market price.

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.

The Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the immune system caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). HIV is transmitted via unprotected sexual intercourse, contaminated blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, and from an infected mother to child during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. There is currently no cure for HIV/AIDS. AIDS is a debilitating condition that has great social, psychological and economic impact on both the individual and the wider community. Besides causing physical deterioration of the individual, AIDS can lead to stigmatization and economic hardship. The cost of AIDS to Sub-Saharan Africa is

From study of United Nations, there were 40 million people in the world living with infection of HIV. Sadly, seventy percent, or 28 million of them lived in sub–Saharan Africa; there are countries in that area have forty percent of population infected and living their life with despair. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) could destroy the immune system that our bodies use to fight off diseases in 10 years; breaking down of the immune system means that we are unable to fight the infections and causes death. In early 1990’s, GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), BMS (Bristol-Myers Squibb) and some other companies developed a series of medicine which could attack HIV in patient’s body; and later in 1996, Dr. David Ho discovered that by taking a combination of

The third cause of the spread of AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa are the religious factors of the region, which play a key role in the spread of the disease. In 2009, Pope Benedict, during his trip in Africa banned the use of condoms (medwiser, 2017). This directly helped to increase the spread of AIDS, as the Catholics in the region had more of an incentive to have unprotected sex. In 2008, Muslim leaders had shared a similar view with the Pope (medwiser, 2017). The umbrella Somali Ulema Council said it would use Sharia (Islamic) Law, including flogging, to punish those selling or using condoms. According to Sheikh Nur Barud, who is the chairman of the Somali Ulema Council, “ the use of condoms will increase adultery

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the world that is most affected by HIV/AIDS. The United Nations reports that an estimated 25.4 million people are living with HIV and that approximately 3.1 million new infections occurred in 2004. To put these figures in context, more than 60 percent of the people living with the infection reside in Africa. Even these staggering figures do not quite capture the true extent and impact that this disease causes on the continent. In 1998, about 200,000 Africans died as a result of various wars taking place on the continent. In that same year, more than 2 million succumbed to HIV/AIDS (Botchwey, 2000).

Sub-Saharan Africa has the most serious HIV and AIDS plague in the world. Around 27.4% of people were living with HIV and AIDS in the year of 2013. Also, there were 1.1 million AIDS-related deaths and over 1.5 million new HIV infections in the same year. While Swaziland has the highest HIV prevalence worldwide, South Africa has the biggest epidemic out of any country.

2.4 million people died of an AIDS-related illness in Africa, and since the beginning of

At the end of 2009, an estimated 33.3 million people globally were living with HIV. In that year alone, there were an estimated 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths and 2.6 million new HIV infections. Data from 2009 shows that the AIDS epidemic is beginning to change course as the number of people newly infected with HIV is declining and AIDS –related deaths are decreasing. This is in large part due to more people living longer as access to antiretroviral theraphy increases, but these gains remain fragile and disparities continue to exist among countries and within countries. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region most affected with 69% of all new infections and in seven mostly Eastern European and Central Asian countries, new HIV infection rates have increased by 25%.

There are abounding countries in the world that struggle with the rate of HIV/AIDS. One of these countries being the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although Democratic Republic of Congo is not one of the top ten African countries with HIV/AIDS, they have had a massive spread throughout the years. Even though they have done many things to try to prevent the spread, rates are still high.

HIV can and will infect anyone who comes into contact with it. There are 1.1 million people in the United States that are infected with HIV but that number is small when looking at it as a global pandemic. Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that there are 35 million living with HIV (who.int). Greater than 2/3 of people infected with HIV live in the Sub-Saharan Africa region (amfar.org). The people in this particular region do not have access to healthcare, clean water or HIV prevention methods such as condoms. Statistics also reveal that black men and women are more at risk for becoming infected with HIV due to poor economic status and under

HIV is a virus that is spread almost all over the world. Although in some places health care isn’t as developed and therefore it spreads more in those regions. Sub-Saharan Africa holds more than 70%, 25 million, of all HIV positive people in the world. Second highest is Eastern Europe together with Central Asia with 1.3 million. It is spread over most of the world, including Asia and the Pacific, the Caribbean, Central and South America, North Africa and the Middle East and Western and Central Europe (“The Regional Picture”).

South Africa has the largest population of people living with HIV/ AIDS. In 2016, South Africa had an estimated 7.1 million people living with HIV/ AIDS [1]. This epidemic has ripple effects across micro & macro–levels of the economy. HIV/AIDS negatively impacts labor supply, total labor productivity & exports among other economic channels. Given the significant impact this disease has on the economy, this is a top priority for the business community and the government.