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HIV/AIDS originated in Africa in the early 20th century and is a major public health concern and cause of death in many African countries. AIDS rates vary dramatically although the majority of cases are concentrated in Southern Africa. Although the continent is home to about 15.2 percent of the world's population, more than two-thirds of the total infected worldwide – some 35 million people – were Africans, of whom 15 million have already died. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for an estimated 69 percent of all people living with HIV and 70 percent of all AIDS deaths in 2011. In the countries of sub-Saharan Africa most affected, AIDS has raised death rates and lowered life expectancy among adults between the ages of 20 and 49 by about twenty years. Furthermore, the life expectancy in many parts of Africa is declining, largely as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with life-expectancy in some countries reaching as low as thirty-four years.
HIV/AIDS, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is considered by some authors a global pandemic. However, the WHO currently uses the term 'global epidemic' to describe HIV. As of 2018, approximately 37.9 million people are infected with HIV globally. There were about 770,000 deaths from AIDS in 2018. The 2015 Global Burden of Disease Study, in a report published in The Lancet, estimated that the global incidence of HIV infection peaked in 1997 at 3.3 million per year. Global incidence fell rapidly from 1997 to 2005, to about 2.6 million per year, but remained stable from 2005 to 2015.
Taiwan's epidemic of HIV/AIDS began with the first case reported in December 1984. On 17 December 1990 the government promulgated the AIDS Prevention and Control Act. On 11 July 2007, the AIDS Prevention and Control Act was renamed the HIV Infection Control and Patient Rights Protection Act.
The Caribbean is the second-most affected region in the world in terms of HIV prevalence rates. Based on 2009 data, about 1.0 percent of the adult population is living with the disease, which is higher than any other region except Sub-Saharan Africa. Several factors influence this epidemic, including poverty, gender, sex tourism, and stigma. HIV incidence in the Caribbean declined 49% between 2001 and 2012. Different countries have employed a variety of responses to the disease, with a range of challenges and successes.
HIV/AIDS is one of the most serious health concerns in South Africa. The country has the highest number of people afflicted with HIV of any country, and the fourth-highest adult HIV prevalence rate, according to the 2019 United Nations statistics.
The history of HIV/AIDS in Australia is distinctive, as Australian government bodies recognised and responded to the AIDS pandemic relatively swiftly, with the implementation of effective disease prevention and public health programs, such as needle and syringe programs (NSPs). As a result, despite significant numbers of at-risk group members contracting the virus in the early period following its discovery, the country achieved and has maintained a low rate of HIV infection in comparison to the rest of the world.
Youthforce was an international youth network founded in 1999 to raise visibility around the impact of HIV/AIDS on youth.
Although almost no research existed on the role of women in Angolan society in the late 1980s, there are a few generalities that could be drawn. In rural Angola, as in many African economies, most of the population engaged in agricultural activities. Women performed much of the agricultural labor. Marriage generally involved familial, political, and economic interests as well as personal considerations and gains. The household was the most important unit of production and was usually composed of several generations. The women grew and prepared most of the food for the household and performed all other domestic work. Because of their major role in food production, women shared relatively equal status with men, who spent much of their time hunting or tending cattle.
Bisi Alimi is a Nigerian gay rights activist, public speaker, blog writer and HIV/LGBT advocate who gained international attention when he became the first Nigerian to come out on television.
HIV/AIDS in Eswatini was first reported in 1986 but has since reached epidemic proportions. As of 2016, Eswatini has the highest prevalence of HIV among adults aged 15 to 49 in the world (27.2%). The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Eswatini, having contributed largely to high mortality rates among productive Swazi age groups. Over the long-term, the epidemic and its respondents induced major cultural changes surrounding local practices and ideas of death, dying, and illness, as well as an expansion of life insurance and mortuary service markets and health-related nongovernmental organizations.
As of 2012, approximately 1,100,000 people in Malawi are HIV-positive, which represents 10.8% of the country's population. Because the Malawian government was initially slow to respond to the epidemic under the leadership of Hastings Banda (1966–1994), the prevalence of HIV/AIDS increased drastically between 1985, when the disease was first identified in Malawi, and 1993, when HIV prevalence rates were estimated to be as high as 30% among pregnant women. The Malawian food crisis in 2002 resulted, at least in part, from a loss of agricultural productivity due to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Various degrees of government involvement under the leadership of Bakili Muluzi (1994–2004) and Bingu wa Mutharika (2004–2012) resulted in a gradual decline in HIV prevalence, and, in 2003, many people living in Malawi gained access to antiretroviral therapy. Condoms have become more widely available to the public through non-governmental organizations, and more Malawians are taking advantage of HIV testing services.
Mozambique is a country particularly hard-hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. According to 2008 UNAIDS estimates, this southeast African nation has the 8th highest HIV rate in the world. With 1,600,000 Mozambicans living with HIV, 990,000 of which are women and children, Mozambique's government realizes that much work must be done to eradicate this infectious disease. To reduce HIV/AIDS within the country, Mozambique has partnered with numerous global organizations to provide its citizens with augmented access to antiretroviral therapy and prevention techniques, such as condom use. A surge toward the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS in women and children has additionally aided in Mozambique's aim to fulfill its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Nevertheless, HIV/AIDS has made a drastic impact on Mozambique; individual risk behaviors are still greatly influenced by social norms, and much still needs to be done to address the epidemic and provide care and treatment to those in need.
HIV/AIDS in Nigeria was a concern in the 2000s, when an estimated seven million people had HIV/AIDS. In 2008, the HIV prevalence rate among adults aged between 15 and 49 was 3.9 percent, in 2018 the rate among adults aged between 15 and 65 was 1.5 percent. As elsewhere in Africa, women are statistically more likely to have HIV/AIDS. The Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey was the world's largest and presented statistics which showed the overall numbers were lower than expected. Antiretroviral treatment is available, but people prefer to take the therapy secretly, since there is still noticeable discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS.
With an estimated 150,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in 2016, Haiti has the most overall cases of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean and its HIV prevalence rates among the highest percentage-wise in the region. There are many risk factors groups for HIV infection in Haiti, with the most common ones including lower socioeconomic status, lower educational levels, risky behavior, and lower levels of awareness regarding HIV and its transmission. However, HIV prevalence in Haiti is largely dropping as a result of a strong AIDS/HIV educational program, support from non-governmental organizations and private donors, as well as a strong healthcare system supported by UNAIDS. Part of the success of Haiti's HIV healthcare system lies in the governmental commitment to the issue, which alongside the support of donations from the Global Fund and President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), allows the nation to prioritize the issue. Despite the extreme poverty afflicting a large Haitian population, the severe economic impact HIV has on the nation, and the controversy surrounding how the virus spread to Haiti and the United States, Haiti is on the path to provide universal treatment, with other developing nations emulating its AIDS treatment system.
Reverend Canon Gideon Byamugisha is an Anglican priest in Uganda with a parish outside of Kampala. In 1992, he became the first religious leader in Africa to publicly announce that he was HIV positive. In 2009, Byamugisha received the 26th annual Niwano Peace Prize "in recognition of his work to uphold the dignity and human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS".
The relationship between religion and HIV/AIDS has been an ongoing one, since the advent of the pandemic. Many faith communities have participated in raising awareness about HIV/AIDS, offering free treatment, as well as promoting HIV/AIDS testing and preventative measures. Christian denominations, such as Lutheranism and Methodism, have advocated for the observance of World AIDS Day to educate their congregations about the disease. Some Churches run voluntary blood testing camps and counselling centers to diagnose and help those affected by HIV/AIDS.
Discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS or serophobia is the prejudice, fear, rejection, and stigmatization of people afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Marginalized, at-risk groups such as members of the LGBTQ+ community, intravenous drug users, and sex workers are most vulnerable to facing HIV/AIDS discrimination. The consequences of societal stigma against PLHIV are quite severe, as HIV/AIDS discrimination actively hinders access to HIV/AIDS screening and care around the world. Moreover, these negative stigmas become used against members of the LGBTQ+ community in the form of stereotypes held by physicians.
South Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic, which is among the most severe in the world, is concentrated in its townships, where many black South Africans live due to the lingering effects of the Group Areas Act.
HIV in pregnancy is the presence of an HIV/AIDS infection in a woman while she is pregnant. There is a risk of HIV transmission from mother to child in three primary situations: pregnancy, childbirth, and while breastfeeding. This topic is important because the risk of viral transmission can be significantly reduced with appropriate medical intervention, and without treatment HIV/AIDS can cause significant illness and death in both the mother and child. This is exemplified by data from The Centers for Disease Control (CDC): In the United States and Puerto Rico between the years of 2014-2017, where prenatal care is generally accessible, there were 10,257 infants in the United States and Puerto Rico who were exposed to a maternal HIV infection in utero who did not become infected and 244 exposed infants who did become infected.
SethembisoPromise Mthembu is a South African human rights activist and researcher, best known for her work on HIV/AIDS and women's rights. One of the first women in South Africa to publicly share that she was living with HIV, Mthembu is a founder of the Gugu Dlamini Action Group, the Young Woman's Dialogue, and the Her Rights Initiative.
References
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- 1 2 3 "Positive mother speaks out". The New Humanitarian. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 25 April 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- 1 2 3 Donnelly, John (10 March 2004). "A name, not a number - Taipei Times". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 1 September 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- 1 2 Fleshman, Michael. "Women: the face of AIDS in Africa". Africa Renewal. United Nations Department of Public Information. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- 1 2 Cunningham, Carissa (18 March 2004). "Human rights award winner speaks at SPH". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ↑ Staff, W. W. D. (7 May 2004). "Reebok's Human Rights Stars". WWD. Retrieved 5 May 2020.