The HIV/AIDS pandemic has been one of the greatest obstacles to development in America and the rest of the world. Since its discovery around three decades ago, the disease has claimed more than 20 million lives with 60 million infections being all over the world (Coriat, 2008). These figures prompted the government to take some agent measures to fight the disease. There have been great gains made in the last decade in the war against HIV/AIDS. These gains have however been slowed down by economic and social hurdles present in many countries. The youth and women are the most affected with only a few victims having access to antiretroviral treatment (Coriat, 2008). Most governments and donors have come up with programs to fight the disease but the increased rate of infections makes the programs fall short of the real projections on the ground. This paper will discuss the policy topic on the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the United States and the rest of the world.
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The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S is estimated to be almost one million with 40,000 new infections being reported annually. There are great challenges in healthcare delivery in most of the affected areas around the world. The HIV/AIDS policy needs a serious review to make it comprehensive (Stolley, 2009). The most surprising thing is that some countries do not even have the HIV/AIDS policy as a guide to fighting the disease. These governments do not provide the right initiative and leadership to develop the national policy on HIV/AIDS. According to health researchers, the United States’ strategy to fight HIV/AIDS is not comprehensive enough to support treatment and prevention strategies (New Zealand Nursing Association, 1994).
The national policy on HIV/AIDS should pay much attention to addressing the issue affecting healthcare delivery affecting the HIV/AIDS victims. Most countries around the world have well-drafted policies but the problem is in implementing the strategies. Failure to allocate enough funds to fight the pandemic demonstrates a lack of commitment by some governments to fight the disease (Stolley, 2009). The development of the HIV/AIDS policy requires the input of all the stakeholders including the healthcare providers, the victims, and the government representatives. The policy should route for evidence-based programming across all the states to realize positive outcomes. Most of the support accorded to HIV/AIDS has been non-medical which leads to many of them dying due to a lack of antiretroviral therapies. The HIV/AIDS policy should have provisions for both medical and non-medical assistance to the victims (Coriat, 2008). The HIV /AIDS victims should be the major stakeholders in the implementation of all policy strategies because they understand the challenges facing them better than anybody else. The access to HIV/AIDS care by the victims should be suitable for some substantial gains to be recorded in the campaign (Coriat, 2008).
In conclusion, the policy topic on HIV/AIDS is very sensitive and needs close attention. Quite several research findings point to the lack of a comprehensive HIV/AIDS policy as the main obstacle in the fight against the epidemic. Most Third world countries have the policy in place but the funding of HIV/AIDS programs have been a great challenge. The other issue of concern is the exclusion of HIV/AIDS victims as major stakeholders in the fight against the disease.
Coriat, B. (2008). The political economy of HIV/AIDS in developing countries: Trips, public health systems and free access. New York, NY: Edward Elgar Publishing.
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