HIV/AIDS Awareness
Treatment on Children in Africa
- 91 percent of the world’s HIV-positive children live in Africa.
- Out of the 34 million HIV-positive people worldwide, 69 percent live in sub-Saharan Africa. There are roughly 23.8 million infected persons in all of Africa.
- More than one million adults and children die every year from HIV/AIDS in Africa alone. In 2011, 1.7 million people worldwide died from AIDS.
Effects AIDS/HIV has on humanity in Africa
- The HIV/AIDS epidemic has drastically slowed the economic growth and social development in Africa, because hundreds of thousands of people are unable to work or receive an education.
Effects on birth rate in Africa from HIV/AIDS
- Because of HIV/AIDs, the average life-expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa is 54.4 years of age. In some countries in Africa, it’s below 49.
- If a pregnant woman is not treated with the proper medication, there is a 20-45 percent chance that her infant will contract the virus from her during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. Because 59 percent of HIV-positive people in Africa are women, the majority of children diagnosed with HIV have had the virus passed from their mothers.
Effects on Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world. An estimated 23.8 million people are living with HIV in the region - around two thirds of the global total.
AIDS-related cancers:
Cervical Cancer, Kaposi Sarcoma, and Lymphomas
Oppurtunistic infections (or Ols) can be caused by viruses, bacteria, fungus, even parasites. Examples of Ols include:
Herpes simplex, pneumonia, salmonella, tuberculosis, HIV dimentia, and histoplasmosis
Effects AIDS has on Africa
The effect on life expectancy, households, health care, schools, productivity, and economic growth & development.
What needs to be done to make a difference in Africa?
One of the most important ways in which the situation in Africa can be improved is through increased funding for HIV/AIDS. More money would help to improve both prevention campaigns and the provision of treatment and care for those living with HIV. Developed countries have increased funding for the fight against AIDS in Africa in recent years.
Children at a school in Illinge, South Africa. Around one in four are affected by HIV/AIDS.
Food Production
The HIV and AIDS epidemic adds to food insecurity in many areas, as agricultural work is abandoned due to household illness. In Malawi, where food shortages have had a devastating effect, it has been recognized that HIV and AIDS have decreased the country’s agricultural output.
Life Expectancy
In many countries of sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS is erasing decades of progress in extending life expectancy. In the worst affected countries, average life expectancy has fallen by twenty years because of the epidemic. Life expectancy at birth in Swaziland, which has the highest HIV commoness in the world, is just 48.7 years.
International Support
The US Government has shown a commitment to fighting AIDS in Africa through the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Started in 2003, PEPFAR provides money to fight AIDS in numerous countries, including 15 focus countries, most of which are African.