Aids in South Africa: Is the HIV statistics getting out of hand?
 |
|
Aids awareness campains often use grafiti
|
HIV Aids in South Africa has long been a controversial subject. Denialist stances on HIV Aids in South Africa, its origin, epidemiology and treatment, by the former president, Thabo Mbeki, and his Minister of Health, the late Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, raised the ire of HIV Aids activists in South Africa.
In 2008, government under the presidency of Kgalema Motlanthe and then Jacob Zuma started moving towards a determined and comprehensive response to HIV Aids in South Africa. This response included the appointment of a new Minister of Health, Barbara Hogan, followed by Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, the reconstitution of the South African National HIV Aids Council (SANAC) and the promostion of a National Strategic Plan (NSP) on HIV Aids in South Africa, which sets clear targets for the prevention, care and treatment of HIV Aids in South Africa.
Also see: Health care in South Africa
 |
|
South Africa was very slow at introducing HIV Aids awareness in the deep rural areas
|
The countries of southern Africa have the highest infection rates (HIV statistics) in Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Africa has the highest number of people infected globally – estimated at around 5.7 million. This number includes 300 000 children under the age of 15 years, according to the UN2008 Global Report on the HIV and Aids Epidemic – these HIV statistics makes for very bad reading.
Many factors contribute to the spread of HIV Aids in South Africa, such as poverty, inequality, social instability, sexual violence, migrant labour, limited access to medical care in especially rural areas and a history of poor leadership in response to the HIV Aids statistics in South Africa.
The hardship for those infected by HIV in South Africa, and the hardship of their families, begin long before death. The stigma attached to HIV in South Africa cause many people to delay getting tested. Fear and despair follow diagnosis due to poor quality counselling and a lack of general support for HIV Aids victims in South Africa. Poverty hinders adequate nutrition for those infected with HIV in South Africa, often hastening the onset of full-blown Aids from HIV. Waiting lists for antiretroviral treatment programmes and eligibility criteria stops infected people from accessing treatment before becoming seriously ill. The cycle of poverty is perpetuated when a breadwinner is infected and has to stop working because of serious illness, or where household income is diverted to care for the sick. The mental well-being of entire households is compromised when the burden of care-giving is passed on to children or the elderly.
 |
|
HIV Aids statistics for Africa tells a shocking tale
|
The approval of the HIV Aids and STI Strategic Plan for South Africa, also known as the NSP, by the South African Cabinet and the reconstituted South African National HIV Aids Council (SANAC) marked a major breakthrough in the response to HIV and Aids in South Africa. The NSP provides the basis for a coordinated national response that sets out the roles of government, civil society, business and other stakeholders, and identifies clear goals and requirements for meeting them in order to successfully battle the HIV AIDS statistics in South Africa.
There has already been some progress in the fight against HIV in South Africa, starting with an increased uptake of Mother to Child Transmission Prevention (MTCTP) services and the provision of dual ARV therapy to infants, which is more effective than the single dose Nevirapine first provided by the government. There is also recognition of the need to focus on saving mothers’ lives and parents’ lives, not just babies’ lives. The needs for HIV to be integrated into health services and for TB and HIV Aids in South Africa to be addressed in tandem have also been acknowledged.
Most care of people living with HIV in South Africa is provided at household level, by family members, care organisations or faith-based organisations.
 |
|
Rallies like this are becoming more common in HIV Aids South Africa
|
In the early years of the epidemic, the community was called upon to provide terminal care and support orphaned children – with very little support from government. Families and neighbours responded, however, and assisted those families who had lost breadwinners and absorbed children who had lost parents into their households. However, given prevailing levels of poverty across the country, the impact of HIV Aids in South Africa stretched survival strategies to breaking point in many cases.
Meanwhile, the formal health care sector has been overwhelmed by HIV and Aids in South Africa. Up to 80% of hospital beds in already under-staffed and under-resourced hospitals have been occupied by patients with HIV Aids-related illnesses. In the area of informal and voluntary care the burden of HIV Aids in South Africa has been greatest – and has fallen most heavily on women, forcing government to increase support for home and community-based caregivers. This reaction included the training of lay counselors to promote voluntary testing. As a result, community-based caregivers remain the backbone of the fight against HIV in South Africa.
As access to ARV treatment improves, community support will become increasingly critical in areas such as monitoring adherence to treatment and facilitating access to adequate nutrition and social benefits – critical in the battle against HIV Aids in South Africa.
Back from HIV Aids in South Africa to Home
Source: www.HIVAids.org.za
 |
|
The children are affected worst
|
Related Blogs
- Humanitarian operations continue: 53, 58 Div troops advance through mined earth bunds | Social networking websites
- Historians Locate King Arthur’s Round Table » Blue Star Chronicles
- Twistie’s Sunday Caption Madness: The Sticks but No Stones Edition » Manolo for the Big Girl!
