HIV/AIDs and preventive measures - Essay Example

HIV/AIDs and preventive measures Introduction Structural and social violence has adversely contributed to the spread of HIV in the African continent. Economic struggles were intensely felt in Africa around 1970s and the epidemic took advantage of this struggle to manifest itself at the same time. Poverty could account for many infections, which are felt in Africa today. It has been quite challenging when dealing with the infectious disease since the medical services in Africa are declining, poverty is mounting, and a vast sphere of gender inequality has consumed the continent. (Ezekiel, Oppong and Craddock) HIV/AIDs can be transmitted in a number of ways including having unprotected sex, contact with open wounds, mother to child infection, and piercing the body using unsterilized equipment. HIV/AIDs has no vaccine or treatment yet. The only effective way to control it is to avoid further spreading through promoting safer practices, fighting the war against drug use, which provides a wide platform for the spread of HIV/AIDs and safer medical practices. Abstract HIV/AIDs epidemic is an enormous issue in developing countries like Indonesia, Africa, and Philippines. African is worst infected with HIV persons, and the use of condoms has sown less fruits. There is still hope when it comes to the HIV phenomenon, as several ways of preventing the infectious disease are being measured (Green). One is bound to ask several questions when it comes to HIV/AIDs and how it is spread. Why do people involve themselves in dangerous behaviors, which will cost them their lives? Why has many efforts been put in this phenomenon yet a little success has been achieved? A lot of people who are infected include migrant mine workers, sex commercial workers and young people in the society. This is the most affected and infected group in the world, especially in Africa. Their situation places them at a high risk of being infected by the HIV/Aids virus (Campbell pp1). This paper is going to look at how HIV/AIDs has been put in control among the communities in South Africa and what the government doing to control it. HIV/AIDs in South Africa In the earlier years, the discovery of HIV/AIDs in South Africa was not taken serious. In recent years, this phenomenon gained a lot of interest, and there are a lot of measures which have been taken since then. In 1980, HIV/AIDs was seen as a phenomenon, which affected the gay society only, therefore, there was no vibrant attention given to it by the South African government. Recently many nongovernmental organizations have been launched in the fight against the infectious disease. These agencies offer localized preventive, care and support programs for affected and infected individuals. (Abdool Karim) The mining community in South Africa and HIV/AIDS According to (Parker), many miners in South Africa are being infected with HIV/AIDS. Despite a lot of dedication and time being put in this predicament, minimal fruits have been harvested. Many testing and counseling programs have been encouraged among the miners, and this has helped prevent HIV/AIDs. There is also availability of medical facilities whenever one has tested positive. There is also high stigmatization, which prevents people to come in the light and confess about their status. HIV infection in the South Africa among the miners is higher than anywhere else in the world. T.B has been on the rise among the miners too, and this may mean that more people are at risk of being infected. Passive surveillance is carried out when a person develops T.B symptoms. Organizations and prevention measures among the mining community in South Africa Many Organizations have launched a number of prevention programs directed to serving a vast number of people including the miners. For example, there is the Norwegian NGOs who have targeted such communities and social networks unlike other program, which target individuals. They have specialized in giving peer education programs and community outreach programs. They have also engaged in condom distribution activities, supporting the PLWAs (people living with AIDs) and they also give help to their families. They also came up with small group interventions and media campaigns where miners are taught on sexual healthy living. This is done on public media like on national television, radios, posters, magazines and newspapers. Miners have been satisfied with the labor these organizations have put in their efforts of fighting the infectious disease (Abdool Karim) The following is a detailed table to show how the struggle of fighting HIV from spreading has been fough among the minning community in South Africa. (Abdool Karim) HIV prevention program percentage offered Peer education 55% Condon ditribution 21% Intensive face to face prevention 17% Individual counseling /small group Interventions 3% Outreach 10% Community 24% AIDs101 talks 10% Media mass campaigns 17% HIV testing and counselling 3.7% Bronchure distibution 3% AIDs hotlines 3% It is evident that these organizations have done a terrific job in fighting and preventing HIV/AIDs among these societies. Some of them embarked on training their personnel so that they can give proper care and information to HIV /AIDs, healthy living, and prevention. These programs entirely rely on a number of ways which can be used to educate the population on ways to prevent HIV and AIDs. They have formed many projects, where the members from the minning population get information on HIV AIDS phenomenon. Where can miners in South Africa get information on the HIV AIDS phenomenon? This information can be found on National television, football clubs, church and other religious institutions, schools and colleges, cooperative unions, public campaigns, hospitals, among others. They are also educated on myths associated with it, ways of prevention which include using of condoms, and responsible sexual behavior. They are also taught respect for all gender especially respect for women and girls. (Abdool Karim) Detailed research on how the world is preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS has been carried out especially in South Africa. For instance, there is the Summertown project in South Africa, which works tirelessly to demonstrate to the mining community population how they can be safe from the disease. They use methods like community participation and multi stake holder where it finds a ground to address its goals. Initially it was sought to encourage and keep running community led peer education programs among the miners who are at high risk of getting HIV aids infection. It then embarked on promoting partnerships and alliances of a wide variety of community groupings and some agencies. These agencies include private and public sectors, which are stake holders who support them in preventing further infections of HIV/AIDs in this society. Through these efforts, this project looks forward to bear positive fruits in seeing the mining employees participate in safe sexual behavior and living a healthy sexual life. Summertown project is committed to putting a number of deaths in check especially of youths who live productive lives yet they cannot see their off springs grow because they have been infected. Many people in South Africa understand what HIV/AIDs is, and why HIV/Aids is dangerous. They know how it is transferred from an individual to another, and there is no cure. But why does the world still witness these people dying with AIDs? Many studies have been carried out by Psychologists in the phenomenon. Many scholarly sources have been produced which link sexual behaviors to properties of an individual which are cognitive, instincts, attitudes, sense of vulnerability and perceived social norms. Economists, anthropologists, and sociologists, have analyzed how HIV and AIDs is as a result of poverty, gender inequalities, and global capitalism. All these factors give a wide view of how HIV flourishes in the society which already understands what the phenomenon is. (Campbell pp1) The spread of HIV/AIDs among the mining population This disease is spread in three main ways which include blood transmission, irresponsible sexual behavior and mother to child infection. The most way, which is transferred amongst the miners, is through sexual activities. Heterosexual contact accounts for 84% of all infected individuals in the mining community. AIDs has claimed a number of lives globally; in 2004, the statistics claimed that 17% of 40% deaths which occurred around the globe were related to HIV/AIDs cases. Condom use has increased among the mining population with the male using it most. Only a small percentage of women use condoms. For instance, sex commercial workers who reside in areas along the mines are aware of high risks of getting infected with the disease, but only a small number of women reportedly use condoms with their clients. This comes even after several campaigns warning people to be careful when they indulge in sexual activities. The ARV The ARV drug was designed by physicians to prolong the life of individuals suffering with the infectious disease, and improve their health. This drug could also reduce the number of infections through reducing infectiousness ability of body fluids found in an individual’s body. By this drug being available, many people in the mining population avail themselves to be tested, be guided and counseled; therefore, high degree of prevention is attained. Negative effects of this drug include drug resistance, whereby the individual taking this therapy may use other drug, but they will not be effective. This drug may also lengthen the infectiousness period. People will learn about it, and this will lead to increased sexual behavior since there is a safe measure which will be taken after the risky behavior. The government of South Africa has also come up with a program that will fight tuberculosis which has posed another risk in people living with AIDS especially in the mines. Tuberculosis is more related to HIV/AIDs, whereby it can accelerate the course of HIV. There is a high possibility that people with TB are infected with HIV/AIDs. Note that T.B infected people are found in the mines due to the dust. Conclusion With the effort put in by the government and other programs, a reasonable number of miners have come out to receive treatment. Many small steps have been felt in the struggle of preventing infection among the local population in South Africa too. The NSP program was also launched in South Africa. This program makes sure that the people who are infected can access medication, care and support easily. (HCT), the national Counseling and Testing Campaign, which is organized by the government normally aims at reaching more than 15 million people. This number also involves the mining population. Testing is a tremendously significant measure especially to people who will be discovered to be infected. When one knows his HIV status, one is able to protect the other from the infection, therefore, preventing further infection. Early detection of the disease not only leads to reduced possibility of spreading the disease; it also prevents one from getting re-infected. If noticed early, HIV could be easily managed, and the individual could live unpredictably long life. References Abdool Karim, Abdool Karim. HIV/AIDs in South Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge university Press, 2005. Campbell, Catherine. Letting them die. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003. Ezekiel, Kalipeni, Joseph Oppong and Susan Craddock. HIV/AIDs in africa: Beyond Epidemology. Oxford: Blackwell publishing, 2004. Green, Edward. AIDS Prevention:learning from successes in developin countries. United states: Greenwood publishing group, 2003. Over, Mead, et al. HIV/AIDs treatment and revention in India. Washington DC: The world Bank, 2004. Parker, Darren. http://www.miningweekly.com/article/hivaids-still-a-major-challenge-in-sa-mining-2009-05-15. 15th May 2009. 11 October 2012. Seth, Kalichman. Prevention:Reducing HIV transmission among people living with AIDs. Newyork: Springer science , 2005. Read More