...AIDS in South Africa Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS is the most deadly disease known to man. More than 25 million people have died of AIDS worldwide since the first cases were reported in 1981 and 33.4 million are currently living with HIV/AIDS. According to Advert, an international HIV and AIDS charity, almost 70% of the people in the world who are infected with AIDS live in Sub Saharan Africa. And in Sub Saharan Africa, South Africa is believed to have more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country in the world. Yet with all of this, the greatest tragedy yet may be the ignorance of AIDS. The large majority of Africans believe strongly that you can get rid of AIDS one of two ways; showering after intercourse with an infected person or having intercourse with a virgin. The latter is a major cause in the number of rapes that take place in Africa, especially child rapes. Even the current president of South Africa, Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, is not exempt from this statistic. In December of 2005 he was charged with the rape of a woman who he knew to be HIV positive, in an interview he stated that he took a shower afterward to reduce the chance of infection. What is even more shocking about this is that Zuma, at the time was also the head of the National AIDS Council for South Africa. The groundbreaking article released at the end of 2002 by the Medical Research Council of South Africa, the “Impact of HIV/Aids on adult mortality in South Africa” report is the first...
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...Western Drug Companies and the AIDS Epidemic in South Africa In December 1997, the government of South Africa passed a law that authorized two controversial practices. One, called parallel importing, allowed importers in South Africa to purchase drugs from the cheapest source available, regardless of whether the patent holders had given their approval or not. Thus South Africa asserted its right to import “generic versions” of drugs that are still patent protected. The government did this because it claimed to be unable to afford the high cost of medicines that were patent protected. The other practice, called compulsory licensing, permitted the South African government to license local companies to produce cheaper versions of drugs whose patents are held by foreign companies, irrespective of whether the patent holder agreed. The law seemed to be in violation of international agreements to protect property rights, including a World Trade Organization agreement on patents to which South Africa is a signatory. South Africa, however, insisted that the law was necessary given its own health crisis and the high cost of patented medicines. By 1997, South Africa was wrestling with an AIDS crisis of enormous proportions. It was estimated that over 3 million of the country's 45 million people were infected with the virus at the time, more than in any other country. However, although the AIDS epidemic in South Africa was seen as primary reason for the new law, the law itself was applied...
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...Western Drug Companies and the AIDS Epidemic in South Africa In December 1997, the government of South Africa passed a law that authorized two controversial practices. One, called parallel importing, allowed importers in South Africa to purchase drugs from the cheapest source available, regardless of whether the patent holders had given their approval or not. Thus South Africa asserted its right to import “generic versions” of drugs that are still patent protected. The government did this because it claimed to be unable to afford the high cost of medicines that were patent protected. The other practice, called compulsory licensing, permitted the South African government to license local companies to produce cheaper versions of drugs whose patents are held by foreign companies, irrespective of whether the patent holder agreed. The law seemed to be in violation of international agreements to protect property rights, including a World Trade Organization agreement on patents to which South Africa is a signatory. South Africa, however, insisted that the law was necessary given its own health crisis and the high cost of patented medicines. By 1997, South Africa was wrestling with an AIDS crisis of enormous proportions. It was estimated that over 3 million of the country's 45 million people were infected with the virus at the time, more than in any other country. However, although the AIDS epidemic in South Africa was seen as primary reason for the new law, the law itself was applied...
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...Engl-101-93 30 March 2008 An Epidemic in South Africa He’s sitting down on a log with his hands on his face; feeling empty and full of pain. He’s in a small village in South Africa and all he can hear around him is weeping and crying; he and his sister will most likely not attend school anymore. The lifeless corpse being buried is his aunt; he and his younger sister had lived with her, unfortunately she died from HIV. His Mother also died of HIV two weeks before his aunt had passed, and his father abandoned him and his sister. He and his sister are now left with no relatives; fortunately, they will be living with a friend and his mother. This tragic story is just an example of the pain and despair some children have to go through in Africa. This chaos occurs throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Millions of children in Africa everyday are being born with HIV and as a result, many children lose their parents or relatives. Each child knows that their life is limited and eventually they will die sooner or later. Although the HIV epidemic is spreading, some programs like UNAIDS were established to assist the worldwide fight against Aids. Many people have to take medication and live with this burden for the rest of their life. The spread of Aids in Africa has become an epidemic due to its progression and continuous spread despite the help, HIV has affected South Africa society and economy severely, and the epidemic continues to spread in South Africa due to the Governments lack of attention...
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...The Impact of Globalization on the Health Sector in South Africa After the Apartheid era, massive inequalities in income, health status, access to health care and other social services continued to dominate in South Africa. The Apartheid era was a system of racial segregation that was implemented in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Due to colonization, whites had ruled South Africa for several centuries, which resulted in the creation of a system that was constructed to serve as a legal framework for continued economic and political dominance by people of European descent (WHO 2003: Antiretroviral Therapy). The apartheid era came to an end as a consequence of both inner and global pressure and South Africa’s new democratic government. The new government claims that improving the access to health care is a main priority noting, “emphasis should be placed on reaching … the most vulnerable” (Department of Health 1997:13). Giving access to health care is becoming an even greater challenge. South Africa was, and is still facing an exploding HIV/AIDS epidemic that, if anything, is highly associated with health care demands. Today, there are more than 5.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa, this accounts for more than 21.5% of the entire population (CIA World Fact book: 2006). This paper aims to understand how the health care sector has dealt with the challenges faced in dealing with immense inequalities and a growing epidemic in the context of globalization...
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...AIDS: The Modern Black Plague The AIDS epidemic has reached a crisis level in Africa and needs to be addressed by the United States. Efforts to teach the population AIDS prevention, reduce the price of certain medications, and influence the local leaders to teach their citizens about AIDS should be considered by the United States. Along with those efforts, the United States needs to help with the aftermath of the epidemic. In order to fully understand what the United States needs to do to help, we must first realize why the AIDS epidemic has risen to a crisis level in Africa. When the HIV virus matures it turns into what is known as AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). It is a life threatening disease that when contracted is eventually fatal. There are treatments and medications that can help slow the painful symptoms of the disease, but so far research has not found a cure. Since the early 80’s AIDS has become quite a scary issue because of its life-threatening nature. Unlike the common cold or other viruses transmitted through the air, AIDS is only transmitted by sexual contact or by the sharing of needles. AIDS, though a worldwide problem has now climbed to an epidemic level in Africa. CW Henderson, writing for AIDS Weekly, reports that, “70% of the world’s AIDS cases are located in sub-Saharan Africa”(20). Anderson goes on to report that, “The disease kills 6,000 people a day in Africa, has orphaned about 15% of children in the worst-hit cities, and by some...
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...South Africa Strayer University SOC 300: Sociology of Developing Countries Professor T. Taylor August 31, 2015 South Africa South Africa is located at the southern tip of Africa. It is made up of a unique demographic, and is approximately twice the size of Texas (Cia.gov, 2015). The death rate in South Africa is the highest of any country (Cia.gov, 2015). AIDS is very prevalent, with South Africa having the fourth highest rate of any country in the world (Cia.gov, 2015). Economic growth is slow, and unemployment is around 25% (Cia.gov, 2015). While the economy of South Africa is experiencing slow growth, they still use the benefits of funding from banking institutions. It is important to understand whether funding from these banking institutions, as well as the general health of the population, affects the economy and politics of the country of South Africa. The World Bank and IMF have the potential to positively impact the economy in South Africa. According to Olawale and Garwe (2010), it is essential that more small and medium enterprises (SME’s) are started in South Africa. They posit this idea due to the high unemployment rate plaguing South Africa. While the World Bank is in full support of more SME’s being opened in South Africa, South Africans fear corruption will prevent them from beginning new SME’s. On the other hand, one could draw the conclusion that loans from the World Bank and IMF are allowing the corrupt South African government to continue thriving...
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...football, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, “The FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa is an international event with great historic importance to the African continent. It will be the first FIFA World Cup ever to be hosted in Africa since the competition began in 1934, and I am convinced that Africa is ready to welcome this momentous FIFA World Cup with open arms. I am also convinced that the host nation, South Africa, will be up to the task, not least because it has abundant potential and resources (#1)” Given all of this information, one cannot deny that the World Cup is an obvious example of globalization, and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will be Africa’s greatest display of Globalization to date. In order to accurately access South Africa as a site for a huge international event such as the World Cup 2010, one must first look at the various social problems that are existent in South Africa. When looking at any African country, the fact that most African countries have only been independent for less than a century must be factored into any assessment. The majority of African countries have a number of social problems caused by cultural conflicts between ethnic groups that were drawn into the same country, lack of governmental organization, and a number of other factors. Although a number of African countries have had conflicts that have resulted in civil war, South Africa’s problems most likely stem from the fact that their first occurrence on non-white...
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...PLC in South Africa: What do you do when costs reach epidemic proportions? Chapter Five Case Case 5-1 Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall AIDS in South Africa • Sub-Saharan Africa is home to just over 10 percent of the world’s population and to 60 percent of all people infected with HIV • Every day 1,000 South Africans contract HIV and another 800 die • AIDS has also had a devastating effect on the country’s economy • Between 1992 and 2002, the South African economy lost $7 billion annually—around 2 percent of GDP—as a result of AIDS-related worker deaths Case 5-2 Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Anglo American Operations in South Africa • Anglo American PLC is a mining conglomerate operating in 61 countries • Founded in 1917 as the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa, it was South Africa’s first home-based public limited company • Anglo American employs 80,000 people in its main operations and another 44,000 at regional subsidiaries • Anglo American controls over 25 percent of all shares traded on the South African stock market Case 5-3 Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Anglo American and ART • Anglo American was one of the first corporations to develop a comprehensive, proactive strategy to combat the destruction of the disease on its workforce • The incentive for Anglo American’s ART program largely came from the failure of its AIDS-prevention...
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...An analysis of GlaxoSmithKline and AIDS Drugs in South Africa Maker of AIDS drugs, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), is confronted with a question of ethics. Do they go the humanitarian route and provide drugs for AIDS victims in poor countries, or do they maintain that they’re a business and they’re here to make money? South Africa has the highest population of AIDS patients in the world. In the year 2000 roughly five million people (or 20%) of the population were infected with the disease. At this time some drugs to attack the virus had been developed. The problem was the cost of this treatment method (HAART) cost an estimated $10,000 to $15,000 a year. The average annual income in South Africa was approximately $2,000. What is a nation to do when a disease is spreading rapidly, killing off your people? The South African government decided to take matters into their own hands. If companies such as GSK wouldn’t make AIDS drugs affordable for their people they would get the drugs another way. In 1997 Nelson Mandela introduced the Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment. With this amendment the South African government could import generic drugs. They saw this as the only way to get affordable AIDS drugs to help infected victims of the disease. In 1998 GSK and 41 other pharmaceutical companies filed a lawsuit against the South African government, brought on by the South African Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment. The lawsuit argued that the...
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...WESTERN DRUG COMPANIES AND THE AIDS EPIDEMIC IN SOUTH AFRICA | | | | | | | | INTRODUCTION The AIDS epidemic in South Africa is at an extreme where 4.2 million of the country’s 43 million citizens are afflicted. This translates into one in every ten citizens being infected with the virus. Additionally 34 million Sub Saharan African citizens have been afflicted and 11.5 million have died and that total accounts for 83% of the world’s AIDS related deaths. Treatment is available in the form of an anti-retroviral, but it is very costly and as such unaffordable for the already impoverished nations in Africa. The AIDS crisis and the expensive treatment have caused the government of South Africa to pass laws authorising the practice of parallel importing and compulsory licensing. Parallel importing allows importers to purchase the medication from the cheapest source whether or not the patent holders gave approval and compulsory licensing allows the government to license local companies to produce cheaper versions of the drug patented by foreign companies with or without their consent. The passing of the law by the South African government caused a legal dispute with the US drug companies regarding intellectual property rights, compulsory licensing and parallel importing. The dispute caused a debate among public health officials, activists, law makers and the drug companies over the importance of public health versus corporate profits and the bad public relations...
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...doesn’t have any visible symptoms for many years, allowing it to be passed from person to person unnoticed. AIDS is the next level of HIV. This is determined when an individual’s white blood cell count drops below 200, deeming it to be AIDS and no longer HIV. At risk groups in South Africa Everyone in Africa is at risk of getting HIV/AIDS. However, there are some vulnerable groups that have a higher chance than others. These groups include: men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers, children, prisoners and women as a result of gang rape or in a sexual relationship. Although worldwide the majority of HIV infections are transmitted through sex between men and women, there are still curtain groups such as the ones above that have also been extremely badly affected. HIV particularly affects adolescents and young people which accounted for 39% of all new infections and 15% of people living with HIV in 2012. This poses a larger risk for these groups in Africa because of the age range and the stigma and discrimination of people who have HIV. Prevention Strategies adopted in South Africa against HIV/AIDS The strategy of preventing HIV/AIDS in South Africa is known as a combination prevention program which addresses factors that are specific to each area that is affected by the disease, therefore being effective in addressing the problem that is HIV/AIDS. One part of the combination program is behavioral intervention which aims to change how people behave in...
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...South Africa A Development and Economic Overview Introduction I chose South Africa as the topic for this research paper. I have always wanted to visit South Africa but have never had the opportunity to travel there. My involvement in international development has given me an interest in this country, as it has many ties to the developing world and the history of developing countries through colonialism. South Africa is influenced by all levels of economic activity including the primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary and quinary sectors which determine if South Africa’s commercial economy. These economic levels, along with the indicators of development, show whether or not South Africa is a developed nation and if so, how developed they are. This paper will present an overview of the economic activities in South Africa and analyze its state of development. Major Economic Activity in South Africa South Africa has a lot of influence throughout multiple levels of economic activity; from primary production to quinary services. Regarding the primary level of economic activity, they have a agriculture sector that covers both subsistence farms and commercial farms. Subsistence farms by definition consume what they produce in order to survive, whereas commercial farms produce a good in excess in order to sell it in a market for the purpose of gaining a profit (Doberstein, 2011). Through the influence of modern innovation and technology, South African farms are able...
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...HIV/AIDS treatments: Sub-Saharan African nations still have a long way to go HIV-AIDS has infected over thirty million people in the world. Over 95% of all AIDS cases in the world are in Africa and in some of those countries over 40% of the people are infected (Frederickson and Kanabus HIV and AIDS in Africa 1). AIDS does not solely affect homosexuals, or any certain ethnicity of people, either; HIV-AIDS can affect any type of ethnicity including African Americans, Caucasians, Asians, Indians, and Hispanic people. AIDS cannot be reversed or cured, but with proper treatment this deadly virus can be controlled and people can live a nearly normal life. In Africa, though, proper treatment is not nearly as available as it is in some other countries. Approximately 2.3 million people died in 2003 in Sub-Saharan Africa alone and that is only the beginning (Frederickson and Kanabus HIV 1). Particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where hospital provide inferior treatment to infected patients because of their socioeconomic status, lack of training of their health providers, shortage of medical staffs, lack of appropriate equipment, insufficient funds allocated for medicine and doctors salary and the absence of counselor or prevention unit in these facilities. HIV/Aids has been named a global epidemic with its toll felt significantly especially in Africa. It has been a major cause of death in the world; it also continued to be a public health concern. It poses huge threat of wiping out...
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...The impact of HIV & AIDS in Africa Two-thirds of all people infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, although this region contains little more than 10% of the world’s population.1 AIDS has caused immense human suffering in the continent. The most obvious effect of this crisis has been illness and death, but the impact of the epidemic has certainly not been confined to the health sector; households, schools, workplaces and economies have also been badly affected. During 2008 alone, an estimated 1.4 million adults and children died as a result of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.2 Since the beginning of the epidemic more than 15 million Africans have died from AIDS.3 Although access to antiretroviral treatment is starting to lessen the toll of AIDS, fewer than half of Africans who need treatment are receiving it.4 The impact of AIDS will remain severe for many years to come. The impact on the health sector In all heavily affected countries the AIDS epidemic is adding additional pressure on the health sector. As the epidemic matures, the demand for care for those living with HIV rises, as does the toll of AIDS on health workers. In sub-Saharan Africa, the direct medical costs of AIDS (excluding antiretroviral therapy) have been estimated at about US$30 per year for every person infected, at a time when overall public health spending is less than US$10 per year for most African countries.5 The effect on hospitals [pic] Nurses working on the HIV ward at Kisiizi Hospital in Uganda ...
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