Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome as a Threat to the World - Essay Example

I. The problem: HIV/AIDS as a threat to the world In the world today, a total of 33.2 million now live with HIV/AIDS. Last year alone, 2 million people have died as a result of this disease. While there have been many initiatives made to cure this dreaded disease and alleviate the plight of those afflicted by it, it still is a sad reality that these initiatives as well as the advances in medical technology have not been able to reach those who need it the most - individuals from developing countries where there are inadequate facilities and a less then satisfactory health care system. Around 22.5 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa live with HIV-AIDS, and it is home to 90% of the world's children that are HIV positive. In 2007, 1.7 million people acquired the disease. The stark poverty and malnutrition in the region have made health care a bleak impossibility. In Asia, on the other hand, another continent where the world's poor may be found, 432,000 people became newly infected, raising the total number of infected people to 4.8 million. While there have been some increase in the number of HIV/AIDS victims in the more prosperous parts of the world like Europe and the United States, the increase in the developing countries are sharper and therefore more alarming. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is a virus that infects human cells and the virus grows and reproduces by feeding of the nutrients of healthy human cells. HIV is the virus that leads to AIDS which stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus, and in this case, the body's immune system breaks down and can no longer ward off infections that come in. These infections that come in are called "opportunistic infections" because they take advantage of a deteriorating immune system. The virus can be transmitted via sexual intercourse - this could be vaginal, anal or oral - whether in heterosexual or homosexual relations, sharing needles or syringes or infection during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. II. The Organization: The amFAR or the Foundation for AIDS Research There are plenty of global initiatives designed to combat the AIDS epidemic. AIDS education campaigns are indeed very much necessary, particularly in areas where it AIDS is still considered a stigma, and the existing health system infrastructure has done very little to combat the growing epidemic. The initiatives are in the nature of prevention advocacy - wherein grassroots level education is being promoted and awareness is being pushed so that governments are pressured to do something concrete for their people who are suffering from the illness - as well as curative strategies to democratize health care and medication. One such initiative is the amFAR or the Foundation for AIDS Research. In its website (www.amfar.org), the organization described itself as follows: Founded in 1985, amfAR is dedicated to ending the global AIDS epidemic through innovative research. With the freedom and flexibility to respond quickly to emerging areas of scientific promise, amfAR plays a catalytic role in accelerating the pace of HIV/AIDS research and achieving real breakthroughs. amfAR-funded research has increased our understanding of HIV and has helped lay the groundwork for major advances in the study and treatment of HIV/AIDS. Since 1985, amfAR has invested $260 million in its mission and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide. The amFAR has helped by funding research critical to the development of essential medication that has led to the reduction of HIV/AIDS cases, such as protease inhibitors, Fuzeon and maraviroc. For prevention, it has also funded research for new technology to prevent the spread of the virus and supported programs to provide sterile syringes, which would help reduce AIDS intravenous transmission. It has also funded education programs, most notably in Nepal, and in the Asia Pacific region. In legislative work, the organization also has played an important law in the drafting of AIDS prevention legislation by the United States Congress. Some examples are the HOPE Act of 1988, the Ryan White CARE Act of 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993. It has also taken a leading role in the development of studies critical to social issues surrounding the AIDS, such as long-term care and the costs of financing care. An important study it funded was the discrimination on individuals living with the HIV/AIDS disease for indeed the social stigma attached to this disease has impeded access to health care and has made it difficult for afflicted individuals to seek medical treatment or diagnosis when the early warning signs first manifest themselves. An important development took place in February 21, 2008 when the amFAR announced that it would provide funding for HIV services and research targeting men who have sex with men (MSM) in developing countries. This is significant because the AIDS issue is one that has impacted heavily on the homosexual community. In a paper written by Joseph Kelly entitled "Advances in HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention (1995), it was stated: Present trends in new infections and new AIDS cases diagnosed in the past year reveal evidence of increased rates of heterosexual transmission especially among the ethnic minority, inner-city poor, increased vulnerability of adolescents and young adults; strong likelihood of contracting HIV by users of crack and cocaine due to accompanying risky sex patterns, and continued high rates of new infections among men who have sex with men, especially outside original AIDS epicenters and among young and ethnic minority gay or bisexual men. (Kelly 345) III. Observations and Reflections It is apparent therefore, because of studies of this sort, that the concurrence of two factors -- homosexuality and a low-income background - increase a person's risk of acquiring the virus. It is certainly truly beneficial and noteworthy that an organization has decided to fund programs targeting directly men having sex with men in developing countries. It would seem that the target areas would be the Asia-Pacific region, particularly the more underdeveloped countries within it, and the Caribbean, where there is also a high incidence of the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus. One issue that has been raised over and over in the AIDS discourse is that the discrimination of those who are living with the disease overlap with the discrimination faced by homosexuals, particularly those that belong to conservative societies or communities where homosexuality is considered an aberration and homesexuals, sinners that must be condemned. That is partly the reason why it has been difficult to make inroads in conservative and also economically-underdeveloped countries. Islam, for example, makes no denials that it views homosexuality as a sin and homesxuals as sinners (Qutb 249)1. Frightening indeed is this viewpoint, not only because it fails to distinguish the person from the orientation, but also because it puts homosexual Muslims in an extremely vulnerable position. They are not allowed to be true to themselves and their genuine gender identity for fear of recrimination and indeed, even of death. Certainly, this is violative of virtually all human rights instruments in the world that guarantees freedom from discrimination on the basis of gender orientation. But more relevant for our topic at hand, it provides a dangerous breeding ground for the unabated spread of HIV/AIDS. Why Because homosexual men who fear they might have the virus because of their sexual relations would be more afraid of coming out to seek treatment, as it would also mean admitting that they are homosexuals. But there is hope for all of us. The first step has been taken: that is, realizing that discrimination is indeed impeding the search for long-term cures but also that education can go a long way. Says Gruskin and Jurgens (1): There was not only abundant evidence of the negative effects of violations of rights both in HIV prevention and in ensuring the ability of Persons Living with HIV to live lives with dignity after diagnosis, but there were significant examples of policy and programmatic efforts that - through the use of key human rights principles such as non-discrimination and participation - seemed poised to help bring the epidemic under control. In that sense, it is certainly correct to say that amFAR and other similar organizations can go a long way in helping curb the HIV/AIDS epidemic, particularly when the approach done is to target specific vulnerable sectors like men who have sex with men. Certainly, there is still much to be done and many obstacles to hurdle but in small and incremental steps, a solution could be somewhere in sight. It should be a synergetic effort among all the different stakeholders like the government, the non-government organizations, international organizations and health care providers. Organizations that take a key role in this, organizations such as amFAR that have tirelessly endeavored to their work, must be lauded not only by the survivors and their families, but by the world as well. WORKS CITED Kelly. Jeffrey A. "Advances in HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention" Family Relations, Vol. 44, No. 4, Helping Contemporary Families (Oct., 1995), pp. 345-352. Gruskin, Sofia and Ralf Jurgens. "The More Things Change" Health and Human Rights, Vol. 8, No. 2, Emerging Issues in HIV/AIDS (2005), pp. 1-7. Qutb, M. Islam: The Misunderstood religion. 249 (Arablic 6th Ed., trans. 1976). The Foundation for AIDS Research. www.amfr.org. 2002-2008. Read More