The spread of HIV and AIDS in Africa, how it is spread, symptoms and it's social and economical impact
As described in part one of this series, a lack of knowledge of how to protect oneself from HIV leads to the spread of AIDS. Searching for a job to increase income may encourage people to migrate to areas away from home. Infected migrants are a means by which HIV can transfer from one area to another. Being away from family and wife for long periods of time, and with the absence of being bound to certain spiritual morals and mores, the migrants may feel urges to visit prostitutes. This is an area where AIDS could transfer easily, due to high risks of prostitutes being infected with HIV. Stigmatization or keeping quiet and not telling that one has the disease due to social reasons may increase the chances of spread of HIV to other partners or to the wife back home.
As a result of adults and children being infected and increased number of orphans, school and work time is decreased leading to poor scholastic perfomance and decreased productivity. Less productivity and an increase in health cost decreases the health budget, and thus less money is available to treat people. Lower productivity and continuous decrease in budget eventually leads to the economy collapsing. The search for a job and a better life starts again leading to the spread of the disease to wider areas and to more deaths and infectons.
Preventive and curative measures should be taken in order to save the world, especially Africa, from AIDS. The main preventive measure is solving the problem of poverty and preventing AIDS transmission by educating the society of the dangers of AIDS and the ways of avoiding it. Scientists need to do more research to find an effective cure or vaccine for AIDS and HIV, otherwise the world may be facing a possible greater disaster than it is already.
For more information about AIDS in Africa see Part One in this series about HIV and AIDS in Africa and :
- www.AIDSinAfrica
-http://www.avert.org/aafrica.htm
References
-HIV/AIDS Symptoms & Complications http://www.drugs.com/aids-symptoms.html
-www.AIDSinAfrica.net
HIV and AIDS in Africa
The spread of HIV and AIDS in Africa, how it is spread, symptoms and it's social and economical impact