WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT

Written Assignment

High-risk mothers and infants chronically ill and disabled Persons living with HIV/AIDS

Gender

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. The high levels of AIDS infection among females 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. Females and girls are disproportionately affected by AIDS/AIDS, with 59 percent of cases of AIDS in the region occurring among females. For every 10 adult men infected with AIDS, there are 14 infected females in the region. (Russell & Sabin, 2006)

Race

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 Americans bear the brunt of the 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 ...