Aids in Africa

In 1984, a new deadly disease struck Africa, which ate the fat off all its victims, leaving them with little more than their skeleton, prompting the natives to nickname this disease "Slim." "Slim" rapidly developed from a localized matter to a full-blown continental epidemic, adapting the more scientifically appropriate name, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). AIDS is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, more commonly known as HIV. This disease, the origin of which remains unknown, has devastated much of Africa, especially the sub-Saharan section, for the past 20 years. Despite the fact that the disease obliterated a large portion of the population over these past years and will continue to do so, it has only been in recent years that most governments, both African and Western, have really begun to take the first steps of solving this problem.

AIDS spread across Africa like wildfire, though its primary zone of infection has been sub-Saharan Africa. 24.5 million of the 34.3 million cases of AIDS in the world today come from sub-Saharan Africa, where 11,000 people are infected per day (3). These areas are expected to see an astonishing decrease in life expectancy in the coming years. In Zimbabwe for example, the life expectancy in 2005 is supposed to be about 61 years. However in 2010, that number is predicted to plummet to about 33 years (3). Over 10% of the populations ages 15 through 49 in sixteen African countries are now infected with HIV or AIDS. As a result of losing so many productive members of their societies, these countries can expect a significant decrease in economic output (5) and an increase in orphans. These countries include Kenya, where 15% of the adult population is infected, Namibia, where 22.5% are sick, Swaziland, 33.4%, and a staggering 38.8% are ill in Botswana (4). In South Africa, 5 million of the adults (20.1%) 15 through 49 are infected, the highest number of any country in the world (4).

So how did this initial outbreak of AIDS become an epidemic in Africa, ravaging many countries of the continent, while it was able to be somewhat contained everywhere else it emerged? The main factors were lack of education, poverty, and insufficient medical attention (1). Africans knew little on how to protect themselves from this deadly disease. While most countries, including a few African, hastily initiated prevention programs as soon as AIDS broke out, resulting in somewhat of a containment of the disease and a general stabilization of deaths, many countries in Africa, especially sub-Saharan, still do not have sufficient prevention programs, informing people how to avoid contracting AIDS (2). It is also growing increasingly difficult for those countries that do have programs to educate, as those kids who have contracted the disease, most likely from their parents, are not even bothering to attend school and thus not learning preventive measures to be taken to keep the disease from spreading (4). Preventative resources are lacking as well, as condoms are not a very common commodity. Sub-Saharan countries averaged only having enough condoms to supply one man with 4.6, per year (4). This compared with the northern countries, most receiving about 17 condoms per man per year (4). Insufficient medical attention is also a major player in the spread of AIDS. Many of those who have contracted the disease do not go to get tested, thus do not know that they are infected and continue to expose the disease and put others at risk.

While it is possible for people in America and other affluent western countries to manage to live long, healthy lives even though infected with HIV, as demonstrated by people like former NBA star Magic Johnson, it is not as much so in Africa, where the countries' respective governments oftentimes do not have the resources to combat the disease. In fact it was only in the past three years that Africa got the international community's support and aid.

With other severe, potentially deadly diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and cholera running rampant throughout Africa, the continent can not afford to throw all of its money behind the fight against AIDS. In fact, forty percent of African public health spending goes toward the fight against malaria (1). The government of an average African country is only able to spend about ten dollars per person per year in healthcare (1), a figure which is significantly larger in most western nations. These ten dollars per year did not even come close to covering the $500 to $1000 per month average treatment cost of an African HIV patient (1). Of the 25 million people with HIV and AIDS across the continent, only about fifty thousand could afford the treatment (1).

With the crisis spiraling out of control, African countries began pondering the idea of attempting to make generic, cheaper drugs so more of the sick could afford them. South Africa actually went ahead with this idea, modeling their drug after the mostly American and British models of the drugs (1). This infuriated the original creators and the proceeded to lobby to the United States government, trying to get them to stop South African manufacturers from making money off what they felt was their product. The government sided with the drug companies and then-Vice President Al Gore threatened trade sanctions against South Africa if they did not immediately cease and desist their drug manufacturing.

The issue was not dead, however, and President Clinton in July 2000 signed an executive order making it easier for African countries to attain American drugs. This legislation also backed off the patent enforcement which was the rationale behind Al Gore's sanction threat earlier, allowing Africans to continue attempting to manufacture generic versions of United States HIV and AIDS medication. This resulted in one more major lawsuit, ultimately dropped, by thirty-nine foreign drug companies against the South African government. Consequently, South Africa has developed a generic medicine, which though inferior is still effective, and more importantly, could be had for $600 per person in South Africa, a price paling in comparison to the original American product, generally costing $10,000-$15,000 (1).

Though much attention is paid to those countries with staggering HIV statistics, there are those governments in countries where AIDS had been a problem in recent years that have made the issue a primary focus and have in turn seen positive results. The Ugandan government is the best example of this. By 1997, they had formed 1020 agencies engaging in HIV control activities. The result was a better understanding of the disease which in turn gave them a better idea of how to fight it (6). Success stories such as this are often overlooked by the American media, which generally prefers high mortality rates to uplifting