South Africa: Many Problems, Many Futures

South Africa, as we know, is a relatively large country situated in the region known as Sub-Saharan Africa. Being located or associated with this region immediately leads one to assume that there are several social, economical, and political issues preventing the country from further development and a higher world economic and political standing. This is true in South Africa, even though it continues to be one of the most highly developed countries in the entire Sub-Saharan African region. One of the biggest problems that South Africa must deal with everyday is the infection and treatment of a great percentage of its population with HIV-AIDS. A key player in the prevention and treatment of this highly deadly disease is the South African government. I will also highlight the many ways that the government of South Africa has failed its people in this area, which as you will see, has been a major issue around the world for many years.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS, or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome occurs when an individual's immune system is weakened by HIV to such an extent that the individual develops one or more of about 25 "opportunistic infections" (OIs), conditions that take advantage of a weakened immune system (Get The Facts). AIDS has become a highly deadly pandemic disease, especially in Southern African countries, including South Africa itself. AIDS has further tightened its deadly grip on Southern Africa, already the epicenter of the global epidemic. The only seven countries in the world with adult infection rates above 20 percent are all in this region, including Botswana, with a 38.8 per cent infection rate, and Zimbabwe, where one in three adults is HIV-positive (Fleshman). In South Africa itself, the infection rate is 10.8% of the total population. Unfortunately, the infection rate of pregnant women is a staggering 29.1% (HIV & AIDS). This obviously does not bode well for the future of the disease in South Africa, as a large number of these newborn babies will already have their lives threatened with an early death, among other things.

One important factor to note is the impact of gender inequality and sexual abuse on AIDS infection. Although HIV prevention campaigns encourage people to engage in safe sex with condoms, for many women and girls in South Africa, it is not a choice that they are allowed to make. Many females are also frequently involved with men who have several sexual partners, making the transmission of the disease much easier. Rape and sexual abuse also play major roles in the transmission of AIDS, because women are in all ways subordinate to men. Police reports have suggested that in 2004 and 2005 combined, there were over 55,000 cases of rape in South Africa. The actual figure, although unknown, is undoubtedly much higher, because the majority of rape cases are never reported. The prevalence of HIV in women is 13.3%, compared with 8.2% prevalence in men (HIV & AIDS).

AIDS is having many lasting effects on all aspects of South African life. Although the percentage of infected persons is only about 11% of the total population, AIDS is effecting everyone. The high prevalence of AIDS in pregnant women creates a situation in which the newborn child will be lucky to live past age 2. Many women pass on the disease to their child through conception, and the child then must live its life with the same struggles that the mother has encountered (Fleshman). Even if the child does not become infected through its mother, there is still a great chance that the child will be orphaned at a very young age and left by itself, or with other family members not able to support yet another family member. UNAIDS estimated that there were 1.2 million South African children orphaned by AIDS in 2005, compared to 780,000 in 2003 (HIV & AIDS). The effects of AIDS upon South African culture are truly startling.

As we know, AIDS is a very deadly disease. The vast majority of people living with AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa will have their lives shortened due to a lack of treatment options, affordability, or availability. AIDS is taking a toll on the overall population of the country. In June 2007, Statistics South Africa published the report "Mortality and causes of death in South Africa, 2005". This report revealed that the annual number of registered deaths rose by 87% between 1997 and 2005. An even greater rise was reported among the specific age group of 25-49, with a rise of 169% in the same period of time. This large increase in deaths, also slightly due to overall population growth, shows the effect that the AIDS epidemic is having on the overall life expectancy of South Africa. This number is currently sitting at 54 years. It is estimated that without AIDS, the life expectancy would reach upwards of 64 to 65 years of age. It is thought that almost half of all deaths in South Africa are caused by AIDS. Even more shocking, though, is that an incredible 71% of deaths among ages 15 to 49 are caused by AIDS. So many people are dying from AIDS that in some parts of South Africa, cemeteries are running out of space for the dead. A recent survey also found that more than twice as many people had been to a funeral in the past month than had been to a wedding (HIV & AIDS). AIDS effects all aspects of life in South Africa, as each day passes.

Through the years, South Africa has also had many political issues which have contributed to the overall prevalence of AIDS in the country. The most rapid increase in HIV infection took place between 1993 and 2000 (HIV & AIDS). During this time, South Africa, along with the rest of the world, was distracted my several important political and social changes taking place. Due to this, the virus was not given the attention that it deserved, and was not even recognized as the epidemic that it was. This allowed the disease to get very far out of hand, making it much harder to go back and fix the problem.

South Africa's national treatment program has caused a lot of controversy and debate. The government of South Africa initially was hesitant about providing the antiretroviral treatment to those who were HIV-positive. It took until 2004 for the government to start supplying the drugs, mainly due to heightened pressure from AIDS activists, while other Sub-Saharan African countries had been providing the drugs to their people for years. Even since the time when these medicines were first given, only about a third of infected people in South Africa were receiving treatment at the end of 2006 (HIV