Impact of Aids in Africa

Impact of Aids in Africa

By the end of 1996 the estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world was 22.6 million. Of that number, 14 million, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total, were in sub-Saharan Africa (Wehrwein, 2000). Nearly two decades into the outbreak, the epidemic has spread throughout the sub region. While the epidemic has apparently peaked in parts of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo it is still rising in parts of Kenya and Southern Africa and is yet to become a major problem in most countries in West Africa. Clearly, HIV/AIDS has become a major public health problem and human crisis in Africa, straining heavily on health care and social service resources far beyond the capability of these sub-Sahara African countries (Wehrwein, 2000). In Africa, HIV/AIDS account for more than 50% of all adult admissions to hospitals, in addition to a significant number of pediatric admissions. The overall effect of HIV/AIDS on the social infrastructure in sub-Sahara Africa is staggering. Africa is seriously handicapped to deal with this disease. Most of the African government policies and programs are not adequately addressing the peoples’ need to combat this disease. Presently, the disease has overwhelmed the pub

Current estimates suggest that between $800 million and $2. Scientists and epidemiologists are training health care providers on how to prevent transfusion of contaminated blood; are educating women on the risks of sexual transmission; are studying HIV in high-risk populations; are helping to develop tools to improve detection and risk assessment; and are equipping clinicians with the best treatment strategies for HIV patient care and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission. For example, out of the 150 million dollars spent in 1997, only 15 million came from African governments. By 2010, the number of orphans will reach 42 million. Immediate attention is required in order to mitigate the devastating social and economic impact of HIV/AIDS such as a continued increase in infant mortality, massive expenditure for hospital care/services and prohibitive drug costs, and indirect medical expenses. At current rates of infection, nearly a quarter of African agricultural workers could be sick or dead from AIDS-related causes within 20 years. Africa has the greatest proportion of children who are orphans. Due to the disease"tms erosion of the human resource base, the countries of Africa have suffered significantly from reduced growth in the productivity, capital, and labor industries (Wehrwein, 2000). The social environment in Africa offers very little support for individuals infected with HIV/AIDS. Because of AIDS, the number of orphans is increasing dramatically. Because of the disease, life expectancy is being reduced by 20 years in countries like Botswana and Zambia and between 35 and 40 million children could be orphaned by the disease. Agency for International Development) and others suggests that once a country's infection rate expands beyond 5 percent there is a powerful macroeconomic impact that kicks in, and for the most heavily affected countries, can take as much as one, perhaps even one and a half percent off annual GDP (Wehrwein, 2000). Developing nations are hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic but have the fewest resources to combat the disease, educate the public or prevent infection.