“Mommy, I cannot feel myself!”, I screamed and ran outside, I met the terrified stare of my mother as she asked “what is wrong with you?”, Amidst tears, I told her how we were taught about HIV/AIDS in class and how my teacher taught me that one with HIV/AIDS cannot ‘feel’ it themselves. My mother laughed and explained to me that it did not mean physical feeling and she gave me a smack and asked if I felt it. I did but I said no because I was so terrified and thought I was infected. She laughed some more and told me more about HIV/AIDS and calmed my fears.
That was over fifteen years ago, I sat back and smiled to myself when I remembered the story and I also asked myself ‘where are we now in Africa with HIV/AIDS?’
AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is a syndrome caused by a virus, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). This syndrome negatively affects the immune system of people infected and this causes them to be more exposed and susceptible to various infections and disease since their immune system which helps protect them against disease doesn’t function as it ought to. People living with HIV/AIDS are said to have the HIV infection. (Medical News Today, 2015), here.
AIDS actually has a short history, yet a really devastating one. Though studies show that HIV/AIDS has been in existence since the 1960s and epidemic surges started in Kinshasa in the 1970s, throughout the entire time and into the twentieth century, the presence and effect of this illness can still be felt and seen in Africa today..
Statistics state that since the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, more than 75 million people have contracted the illness and over 36 million have died from an HIV-related disease. As at 2009, an estimate of about 22.5 people were living with the virus, in 2011, it increased to about 23.5 million people. At the end of 2014, approximately 36.9 million people are living with the infection, and yet currently, only 51% of the entire populace are aware of their HIV/AIDS status.
The major cause of the spread of this illness despite that technology development and influx of social media usage in Africa has steadily been increasing is the socio-cultural stigma associated with the illness and this stigma causes people to ignore the signs of infection when they see it, it also prevents people from going for help, counsel, and drugs even when they know they are infected. One of the other known causes of the disease spread is the stance of some religious and social bodies, In 2008, 2009, 2013, some Christian and Muslim leaders have banned and greatly discouraged the use of condoms and in Kenya, safe-sex commercials are banned. Some other communities do not encourage the talk about the disease, and the use of control mechanisms such as use of condoms. Economic factors have been responsible for the spread as there isn’t enough allocated funds to carry out medical researches, facilitate medical centers and fund pharmaceuticals. Another very important issue as regarding the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa is the bad state of the health industry; lack of adequate training, lack of proper funding of hospitals and pharmaceutical bodies. All of these factors especially the seemingly inherent ones such as cultural factors and state of the health sector have contributed to the steady, slow rise of infected people in Africa when we should actually experience a decline.
Despite all of these factors, there are numerous campaigns, initiatives, by government and even non-governmental bodies which have been trying to reduce the spread of this syndrome. Some of these organization even visit the root of the populace (the elementary schools.) Awareness is rising to reduce the effect of socio-cultural stigma. Awareness about prevention and control has also been on the rise in hospitals, schools, social media, television and other media systems.
One of the major fighters against the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region is the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. They have been working to develop antiretroviral prevention methods which includes new prevention methods, development of long-last methods of administering antiretroviral such as injections, vaginal rings, they do this so that patient does not exactly have to rely on daily-intake of tablets. Work is also being done by the foundation to ensure efficient and effective service delivery by reducing the cost of essential anti-retroviral treatments. They also participate in voluntary medical male circumcision, by this they reduce possible spread of the disease. They also get methods to improve the diagnostic process so that infected people can get treatment on time, thus enhancing their chances of survival (Gates foundation) here.
Also conferences and research has seriously been going on to reduce the spread of the HIV virus, to ensure ready availability of vaccines and search for cure is underway too. An example of this is the 17th edition of ICASA (International Conference on AIDS and STIS in Africa). So much was discussed as regards gender issues, leadership issues, and faith-based communities. These discussions were centered on the spread of AIDS and solutions. There was also the debate as to whether the end of AIDS is a myth or reality. There were questions as to how realistic it is to have “an AIDS free world”. It was concluded that it was more realistic to work with the goal of efficiently managing the disease. (ICASA, 2013) here.
More conferences and research work are ongoing and more are being organized for example the upcoming ICASA conference 2015.
Conclusively, we can say that even though the disease has been on the rise in Africa, we can however join forces with the government, non-governmental bodies and health organizations by living healthy, avoiding sharing sharp tools, maintaining healthy and safe sexual lives, and importantly reaching out to the infected people in a bid to reduce the societal effect of the stigma on the infected populace and of course hope for the best for Africa.
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