AIDS in South Africa
ANT 101
August 22, 2010
The AIDS epidemic in Africa has claimed 25 million lives since 1981; this is equal to half the death toll of World War II (Baldauf, 2010). In 2007 it was estimated that there were 33 million people worldwide with AIDS, of that 67% were in Africa. Africa has the largest concentration of AIDS cases in the world. This paper will cover why the AIDS cases in South Africa have spiraled out of control while it continues to decrease in other locations. We will review some of the effects of AIDS and what is being done now to try and reverse its present course and lower the death and infection rate.
African nations have chosen different approaches to solving their AIDS infection rates. South Africa’s former President, Thabo Mbeki was in AIDS denial. The South African government even said that AIDS was just a social problem, and only affected the poor. The president argued that there was no link between sexual behavior and the spread of HIV; he said HIV does not cause AIDS, so why should he wear a condom. This had a ripple effect with men throughout South Africa. It is amazing that the president of a country could be so out of touch with what his country was going through. He also believed that herbal remedies worked better than the latest drug treatments. It is believed that Mbeki’s two terms as President set South Africa back ten years in AIDS prevention. Not only should South Africa had started an education program right away, they should have developed a testing program. If the people do not get tested, they will never know they have the disease and keep passing it without know they are doing so. The current President, Jacob Zuma takes the AIDS crisis very seriously and is working with different health organizations to bring the HIV crisis in South Africa under control.
The Uganda government treated the HIV crisis totally different than South Africa’s government. The Ugandan HIV infection rate went...