This paper examines the economic repercussions for families and communities affected with AIDS in Africa. It was reported that one-quarter of the working population in Africa have been inflicted with AIDS and the money saved for basic necessities and investment in the children's future is used up to cover the high cost of medical expenses. An annual health care expenditure by the government of less than $100 is not enough to cover the cost of antiretroviral therapy of $10,000-20,000 per individual. When these patients die, the government must bear the burden of caring for the orphaned children and elderly. Also, the increasing number of HIV infection has taken a toll on the medical resources thus resulting to a rise in the price of medical services. Gross Domestic Product (GNP) has been used to evaluate the effect of AIDS in the region's productivity but was found out that it is the wrong way of measuring the effect. A larger context of human welfare must be considered and nations must realize that they lost 10-20 productive years due to a single disease. An estimate of just an annual decrease of 1.5% in the incidence of AIDS could increase the GNP by 56% in that same period. These figures are used as measures on a massive representation of human suffering and tragedy but they do not measure the agony of the survivors and ignore the loss of the dead and the dying.
This paper concerns the administration of governmental and nongovernmental programs for the prevention of HIV/AIDS in Africa. A 1986 government campaign in the prevention of HIV in Senegal has been initiated and has been guided consistently. The Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA) is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) which assembles young population, women, and communities, towards their goal to prevent HIV infection. Marocaine de Lutte Contre le SIDA (ALCS), another NGO in Morocco believes that early intervention and education could help prevent further spread of infection. ALCS focused on the education of sex workers and the use of condoms. They also work with a group of men to promote safe sex and tackle the need for better testing facilities. In Uganda, the focus of the organization is to control the high incidence found in couples with only one infected partner. Another organization incorporates accurate HIV/AIDS information during prayers and other religious activities. Another approach was adopted by teaching English in secondary schools with AIDS information, values on education, family, and employment as content. An NGO in Cape Town was established to form loose cooperative to exchange information and resources within the community. An ongoing nationwide campaign for HIV prevention and control especially among high-risk groups and an effort on STD treatment is being organized.
This paper focuses on the appeal of Maurice Tempelsman, chairman of the Harvard AIDS Institution, to the US government to strive for the allocation on AIDS treatment and vaccine research. The growing economy in regions like Africa and Asia are being jeopardized by the alarming rise in the incidence of AIDS. Budgets on health care services averages $100 per year and the basic medical intervention for AIDS patients is an estimate of $300 in sub-Saharan Africa and $1000 in Thailand. Government funds during these cases could use up public facilities and resources. The government offsets this loss by raising taxes or curtailing medical and social services, which could eventually weaken the thriving condition of the country. A proposed allocation of $2 billion by the US government earned from African affiliates may be invested in vaccine research to change the course of the epidemic. Research contributions by the US could greatly benefit not only those in Africa but also in Asia where the epidemic has yet to release its fury.
Despite escalating numbers of HIV infections worldwide, complacency and a false message that the epidemic is over have led to waning coverage of AIDS in the US news media. In November 1996 issue of New York Times Magazine, an article entitled "The End of AIDS: The Twilight of an Epidemic" expressed hope in new drugs which were supposed to be the answer to AIDS, though nothing could be further from the truth. Mainstream media have prematurely declared an end to the crisis in contrast to the steady increase in infections and the failing reactions to drugs. Moreover, while infections in communities of color have dramatically increased, the media still focuses on how AIDS is supposedly letting up in the gay community. This could be because governments of developing nations are focusing on the economic advancement instead of on the medical needs. Thus, when the government is trying to attract new business, the HIV infection rate is not something it wants to advertise.
This document provides a regional overview on the AIDS epidemic in the African continent. A widespread difference between regions in the incidence of AIDS has been associated with the socioeconomic and cultural differences. The highest occurrence of AIDS was reported in the three-nation cluster of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe found in the region of sub-Saharan Africa. A specific subtype C of HIV-1 is transmitted easier through heterosexual intercourse, while mother-to-infant transmission had been the second most common mode of transmission. In the 1998 report of the UN Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS, the prevalence of AIDS was relatively moderate in central Africa, with a low occurrence of HIV-1 subtypes A, C, D, F, G, H, I, J, O, and U. Eastern Africa was found to have the HIV-1 subtypes A and D, with the subtype C making its existence known. Active government prevention programs and strong Islam influence had resulted in a minimal incidence of HIV transmission in western Africa. A rare, less infectious form HIV-2 had been discovered in western African nations like Senegal, Mauritania, and Cape Verde. Northern Africa thus far had eluded the level of devastation that inflicted the other regions, but with the large population of immigrant workers, sex tourism, and injection drug use, increasing incidence of HIV infection is making its presence felt. Government and nongovernmental organizations are making efforts in the prevention and education of those specifically at high risk for infection.
