Antiretroviral Therapy HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Rationale and Scope:

HIV/AIDS is an epidemic, which is ignored by many, as the disease is assumed to be only obtained by unfaithful sexual activity and this is considered wrong by society. Many patients have HIV but are not able to help themselves with the treatment, as they do not have the money nor support. Most suffer in silence, as they are afraid to go get the test because if their reports are positive then society will decline them. Many neglect their health and take the risk to survive HIV without treatment, which then leads to AIDS and causes the patient to die.

Through this essay, I would like to elaborate on how there is treatment for HIV/AIDS. I plan on investigating few countries on how aware they are about Antiretroviral Therapy

The virus of HIV spreads through direct contact of fluids present in the body like semen, blood, vaginal fluids etc. Casual contact such as a handshake with an HIV patient will not make you get HIV. The most common way people get HIV is through sexual activities and needle or syringe use. Through HIV tests, you can diagnose this virus which might help you to avoid AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) which is the final phase.

The world consists of 36.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS. Out of 36.7 million people, there are 1.8 million people who are children less than 15 years old, who get infected through their mothers who are HIV positive during pregnancy and through breastfeeding. A large amount of these children live in the sub-Saharan African region.

As HIV is not a virus that shows immediate symptoms, only 60% of the people who have HIV know they are having the disease and what stage they are on whereas 40% which is more than 14 million people don 't even have access to HIV tests. Very few people are receiving any treatment for HIV/AIDS. It can be controlled by using a medication known as Antiretroviral therapy (ART) but it cannot be cured. This treatment can make you live as long as a normal

Not all countries have Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) and this should change as this treatment helps many HIV- positive patients survive for a longer period.

National Perspective:

India is the third largest country which has the highest rate of people living with HIV. In India, there are 2.1 million people living with HIV and there have been about 68 000 deaths caused by AIDS, which is the last stage of HIV. Out of 2.1 million people, merely 41% are using antiretroviral therapy (ART).

There are many ways of HIV transmission in India but one main source of high transmission rates would be through migration workers and truckers.

0.99% out of 7.2 million migrant workers are found to be HIV infected. As these workers move through rural and urban areas they interact with much of the population which allows the epidemic to spread like wildfire. Testing for HIV is relatively low in these groups as only 14.2% test if they have HIV or not. 75% of the women in India are HIV-positive and have a husband who works as a migrant labourer. Amongst the migrants from rural to urban area, more than 0.9% have been diagnosed as