AIDS IN AFRICA

Aids in Africa

Aids in Africa

Introduction

Since 1985, the proportion of females infected with human immunodeficiency virus (AIDS) globally has risen from 35 percent to 50 percent, with the numbers of females being infected with AIDS increasing substantially in every global region. In 2008, females made up partially of all population existing with AIDS of the 15.7 million females living with AIDS globally, 76 percent live in Africa. The high levels of AIDS infection among females in Africa has serious implications for the welfare of families, as females are the main caregivers and grow most of the subsistence crops that contribute to the food security of households and communities. The high levels of female AIDS infection expose the vulnerability of females to this deadly disease and indicate high levels of discrimination against females in the region.

Human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a new disease that was first identified by the medical community in 1982. Although the disease has been recognized for almost 30 years, there is still no cure or vaccine, and in that period the disease has spread to every global region. It is estimated that since the epidemic began, over 60 million people worldwide have been infected. AIDS/AIDS is acknowledged to be one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. The seriousness of the epidemic was acknowledged by the international community when in 1996, the United Nations Joint Programme on AIDS/AIDS, or UNAIDS, was set up to lead the fight to control and eliminate the disease. In 2000, the detrimental effect of the pandemic on the development of some of the poorest regions of the world-especially Africa-was recognized when the halting and reversal of the spread of AIDS infection by 2015 was accepted as a United Nations Millennium Development Target. This article explores the main features of the AIDS/AIDS epidemics in Africa and investigates the feminization of the epidemic in the region, highlighting the principal factors responsible for high levels of female infection.

Body: Discussion and Analysis

Since the beginning of the epidemic, Africa has been the global region most severely affected by AIDS/AIDS. By the mid-1990s, AIDS had become the leading cause of death in the region. In 2008, it was home to 22.4 million adults and children living with AIDS/AIDS-accounting for 67 percent of the global total. Africa bears the brunt of the global AIDS/AIDS pandemic, with adult (those aged 15-49 years) prevalence in the region recorded at approximately 5 percent. Over the last decade, the data suggest that prevalence rates are beginning to decline in the region as the rate of new AIDS infections has slowly declined. The number of new infections in the region in 2008 was approximately 25 percent lower than at the epidemic's peak in the region in 1995. However, in 2008 the region accounted for 68 percent of new global AIDS infections of adults and 91 percent of new infections among children. The disease continues to have a devastating effect on families, communities, and national economies in the ...