Erika Scaggs African Politics Final Paper Due December 1, 2014 Africa is a continent that has long been stricken by poverty. Many countries in Africa have little to no economy, and most of those who do are negligible on the world stage. Largely due to this widespread poverty, disease runs rampant in many African countries. One of the most devastating diseases in Africa, and also one of the most common, is HIV/AIDS. This is for a variety of reasons, including a lack of awareness for the virus and an ancient understanding of medicine among the most impoverished of Africa. Additionally, many countries who do understand the sickness simply do not have the economic, and by extension, the medical resources to combat this deadly virus. More alarmingly, …show more content…
In 2011, it was reported that over 5 percent of adults from the ages of 15-49 in Africa suffered from HIV/AIDS in varying degrees, and these numbers are steadily increasing. Alarmingly, around seventy percent of the world’s HIV/AIDS carriers live in sub-Saharan Africa . This is due to a variety of socioeconomic conditions. Many countries in Africa are in deep poverty. A lack of resources to fight sickness can greatly reduce available treatment. Even going past the general poorness of these countries citizens, a country itself can be impoverished. With little money for public works, things such as hospitals and research into new medicine can be severely lacking in funds – or even nonexistent. As such, it can be near impossible to find proper healthcare for many diseases, including HIV/AIDS. In some parts of Africa there is not treatment available at all. The reasons for this poverty can vary from country to country, but there are generally some common …show more content…
In fact, it is estimated that over a quarter of Botswana’s citizens are suffering from HIV in the present day. This number does not add up with how well the country is doing economically, and is alarming even for an impoverished one. In taking a closer look, there are a number of potential reasons for this large amount of cases. When the first case of HIV was discovered in 1985, Botswana responded slowly, focusing solely on screening blood used in transfusions for HIV. It wasn’t until 2003 that the government turned its focus to developing prescription medicine to help fight the virus. It was also around this time that Botswana introduced a public awareness campaign in order to educate the public on mother-to-child transmission of the disease. In addition to the slow governmental response, the culture of Botswana makes it easy for the disease to spread and grow. Many sexual relationships are shared between large groups of people, spreading the disease rapidly. It can also be attributed to incestual relationships and people traveling to more infected areas in search of work. For all these reasons, the fight against HIV/AIDS in Botswana is slow