Background Information

 
First thing you need to know about HIV and AIDS, is the difference between them.  HIV is a virus which can cause an infection that can be transmitted. AIDS, which stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, is a syndrome that affects your immune system. Many people use HIV and AIDS interchangeably because HIV can lead into AIDS. Once the HIV virus has damage your immune system, AIDS starts to develop.  HIV can be spread by unprotected sex, sharing needles, childbirth and breastfeeding, or blood transfusion.  

The worst epidemic outbreak of HIV/AIDS, in the world, is in Sub-Saharan Africa. Officials think that there is an estimate of 25 million people living with HIV, in Africa, which is about 70 percent of the global total of people living with HIV. There are many steps that health organizations, governments and individuals are taking, such as making a National Strategic Plan(NSP) for fighting HIV/AIDS or just practising safe sex. In the NSP plan, it includes getting antiretroviral drugs to everyone that needs it. The drug isn’t a cure but helps the patient’s immune system.  They’re also trying to educate people on how HIV is spread and how to protect yourself from getting HIV.  It took a long time to set up help options and information, in Africa, for people who have HIV/AIDS or to prevent getting the virus.

Areas that have the largest population, in Africa, that are affected with HIV between 15-49 of age.

 Many people don’t know that HIV actually originated in Africa, from a group of chimpanzees! There was a ten year study, to find where HIV came from. Researchers believe that the HIV strand was first transferred to humans, in 1930. The HIV strand moved fast and infected 2000 people in Africa, by 1960. It wasn’t until 1970, that the HIV/AIDS epidemic started. The HIV gained a fast transmitting rate and was spread quickly.

The 1980’s was big decade for HIV/AIDS. Doctors started to see a massive increase in a locally known disease called “slim disease”.  They then soon discovered the “slime disease” had the same symptoms as AIDS and doctors realized the connection. What locals were calling “slime disease” was actually HIV. Clinics started to do trials to find transmission patterns and risks, and find information about HIV.

There was lots of stigma around HIV in the 80’s. There wasn’t many answer about HIV so people started to think they could get it just by eating an apple or touching a certain person.  Since no one really knew much about HIV/AIDS, people were not aware if they were infected until the last stages of AIDS and those people often died soon after their diagnosis.

Since no one had come up with a cure for HIV/AIDS yet, the African government started to focus on preventing HIV, in the mid 1980’s. They started to encourage people to rethink their sexual behaviour, think about abstaining and started to educate people on how to have safe sex.  Also, in 1987, Uganda’s government started to build a five year plan that would work with the World Health Organization(WHO) to help prevent the spreading of HIV. Other governments, weren’t so happy about HIV/AIDS. The president of Congo banned the press from saying anything about HIV/AIDS for four years, from 1983 to 1987. Also, Zimbabwean doctors were told not to mention AIDS on death certificates for many years.  

The 1990’s were different from the 80’s. People were trying to fight against HIV/AIDS and started  getting more people help that were infected with HIV and AIDS. The WHO quickly started an action plan that’s goal was to raise 1.5 billion every year by the end of the decade to help prevention and get people educated on HIV.

By 2005, there was 810,000 people receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS. According to an UNAIDS report, that 17 percent of the people who were in need of lifesaving drugs, called antiretroviral, were getting the vital drug. This number then increased 42 percent, by 2008. There also was a change of behaviour in parts of Africa, in Kenya and Zimbabwe. People started to practised safe sex, reduced the number of casual sex partners, e.t.c. This behaviour trend has help decline HIV in some parts of Africa.

Today, HIV/AIDS is still a major problem in Africa. Africa has come a long way with ways of treating people living with HIV and AIDS.