This report aims to understand social and behavioral factors driving the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Inequalities fuel the spread of HIV/ AIDS on many different levels such as poverty, gender, education and health. Poor and vulnerable populations are most at risk from HIV/AIDS whereas wealthy countries that can afford access to anti retro viral drugs , have functioning health care systems and education policies in place; have a significantly lower rate of infection. The stigma surrounding HIV compounds these effects and the vulnerable remain marginalized and most at risk. The Status Of Global HIV Efforts Essay
The Nature of HIV/AIDS: A Global Pandemic:
HIV/AIDS is a new epidemic in our history There currently is no cure and no vaccine for HIV/AIDS. HIV is transmissible through sexual contact both homosexual and heterosexual, injecting drug users and other rare occurrences of transmission such as blood transfusions. HIV has a long period of infection and between infection and illness.
The world wide population of people living with HIV in 2008 was 33.4 million, with 31.3 million being adults, 15.7 million being female and 2.1 million being children under 15 years of age. In 2008, 2.7 million people were newly infected with HIV; 2.0 million people died from AIDS related illnesses and today it remains one of the leading causes of death globally. The Status Of Global HIV Efforts Essay
There is large variation between countries and regions of HIV/AIDS prevalence and according to epidemiological patterns; the disease is evolving with changing epidemic patterns in different regions globally. In Australia at the end of 2008 18,000 people were living with HIV.
The transmission of HIV in Australia is primarily through sexual contact between homosexual men however the infection has also been transmitted through heterosexual contact and injecting drug users.
In Thailand the population living with HIV/AIDS is 610,000, HIV/AIDS is primarily transmitted through heterosexual contact, injecting drug users and sex workers. In Thailand more than 1 in 100 adults of a population of 65 million is infected with HIV, and AIDS has become a leading cause of death.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the most heavily affected HIV/AIDS area, in 2008 two thirds (67%) of the HIV/AIDS infected population worldwide remained in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa in total has 22.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS. Heterosexual exposure is the primary mode of transmission of HIV with females being more heavily affected by HIV. In the year 2008 there were 1.4 million AIDS related deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Status Of Global HIV Efforts Essay
The Life Course of HIV/AIDS Infection:
The greatest challenge facing developing countries is the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the realization that it threatens not only human life but decades of development (Polgar, 2002). The disease attacks and destroys families and communities that place heavy financial burden on the economy (World Health Organization, 2010). Globally, the most vulnerable are the poor, women and young girls, prostitutes, injecting drug users and children of infected mothers. Dependent upon the mode of transmission, location and availability of treatment, the survival rate is between 1 to 11 years. A reduction of 80% of the disease has been achieved with treatments such as the anti-retroviral drugs, but the long term effects can cause secondary infections and malignancies that are associated with a compromised immune system. The increased spread of HIV/AIDS has affected social networks by conflict and displacement. Biologically women are more susceptible to contracting HIV than males due to hormonal changes, vaginal microbial ecology and physiology, and a higher prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (Quinn & Overbaugh, 2005). The individual determinants of female vulnerability to HIV include gender inequity, poverty, cultural and sexual expectations, violence and lack of education. The Status Of Global HIV Efforts Essay
A large majority of older people that are living in low or middle-income countries can account for 70% of the ageing population worldwide (World Health Organisation, 2010) The opportunity to build the infrastructure necessary to address this demographic trend is much briefer because population ageing is occurring faster in countries, such as South Africa. There is a high risk of people falling into poverty in older age that may increase with reduction of family size. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS and the high mortality rate among adults has increased in numbers and skipped whole generations. Increasing numbers of the younger generation have died in the AIDS epidemic, leaving the surviving adults to take on the responsibility in caring for the sick, especially the poorer families (Stover et al, 2002 pp.73-77) The Status Of Global HIV Efforts Essay
The economic affects of HIV/A
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