Struggle with HIV

Kate Carlson

Tompkins 2

World Lit. Honors

9 March, 2015

Struggle with HIV

An estimated 11% of South Africa is living with HIV or AIDS. This number represents approximately 5.6 million people living with Human Immunodeficiency Disease or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). HIV is a sexually transmitted disease that attacks the body’s immune system, and makes one incapable of fighting common diseases. AIDS is the final stage of HIV and for one to be diagnosed with it, his or her immune system has to have been attacked to the extent that it no longer functions at all. South Africa is the most heavily affected nation in the world by HIV for a multitude of factors, all of which can be attributed to other issues that are rampant in the nation. Outside nations are not trying to minimize the gravity of the situation in South Africa, but there are many challenges to solving the outbreak of HIV and AIDS. There are many measures currently in place to help, but there is much more that needs to be done.

South Africa is a poor nation that is currently struggling with many important issues, such as gender equality, education, and unemployment, all of which contribute to the spreading of HIV. Gender inequality is a huge issue, as women are frequently raped or subject to the pleasures of men. This causes a high percent of women to be infected, and to spread the disease to other men. Men are also supposed to have as many children as possible in order to display their virility to the others, and demonstrate dominance. (Preventing) This attitude makes unprotected sex common, and contributes to the spread of HIV. Also, a lack of proper education makes the spread of HIV more severe. These uneducated people are not taught about the dangers that come with unprotected intercourse, which facilitates the circulation of the disease. Lastly, unemployment is an issue that abundantly increases the prevalence of HIV in South Africa. With many women unable to find jobs, they become sex workers, a legal profession in South Africa. These women transfer the disease between different men, making it widespread in this area. With all of these issues, many solutions are multi-faceted, but there are some ideas that allow for a more promising outlook to South Africa’s future.

Even with many of the world’s leading countries looking into the issue of HIV in South Africa, there is no solution that seems to be the best. Pharmaceutical companies everywhere struggle to lend medical aid for a variety of reasons. According to journalist Ferial Haffajee, the price of the sending aid is so high, that South Africa cannot purchase the medicine even at a reduced price (Haffajee). Also, the HIV medicine requires anywhere from ten to forty pills to be taken daily in a treatment called anti-retroviral drugs, or ART drugs. This requires specific timing that many people in South Africa do not have the ability to achieve, as many of the people infected do not have any way to access a clock. This truth makes it very difficult for other companies to assist South Africa, despite their attempts. Jesse Jackson stated in a 2001 article for the Huffington Post, “treatment requires 20, 30, or 40 pills a day, and there might not be drinkable water to take them. Some of the drugs are supposed to be taken so long before or after a meal, or with milk. But sometimes there is no milk- and occasionally no meal”(Raspberry). Not only is it difficult for outside nations to help them, but the South African government struggles to help itself. The government cannot declare HIV to be a national emergency, because their constitution states that, “...a ‘national state of emergency’ can only be declared ‘when the life of a nation is threatened by war, invasion, general insurrection, disorder, natural disaster or other public emergency,’ and also only when ‘the declaration is necessary to restore peace and order.’” (Sisulu) For this reason, Africa is still struggling with the HIV epidemic, and despite finding remedies to this situation, the continent is finding it difficult to get help. Around South Africa, there are billboards attempting to educate the people and easily accessible and anonymous HIV testing in neighborhoods. These small adjustments have made huge differences in the number of people infected with HIV, as the numbers keep decreasing overtime.

HIV and AIDS are diseases that exist all over the world, but are most serious in South Africa. Economic trouble, gender inequality, and lack of education all facilitate the diffusion of HIV, without many evident solutions. There are many groups created for the sole purpose of bringing awareness to HIV, such as Avert, UNAIDS, International AIDS Society, and many others, as it is an extensive problem. There is still no one definitive solution to this huge problem that affects 35 million people globally, and 5.6 million in South Africa.

Work Cited

"AIDS in Africa." MCT Photos. N.p.: n.p., 2011. N. pag. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 6 Mar. 2015.

Haffajee, Ferial. "Crisis in Africa." AIDS in Africa. NI Global Issues, 10 Jan. 2001. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.

"Preventing AIDS in Africa." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 15 July 2005. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

Raspberry, William. "Yahoo! Groups." Yahoo! Groups. Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2001. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

Sisulu, Sheila. "South Africa's Commitment Against HIV-AIDS." Global Issues in Context. Gale, 15 Apr. 2001. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.