...1.1 INTRODUCTION HIV and AIDS pandemic in the African continent has had a short but devastating history. Sub-Saharan Africa is more profoundly affected by HIV as compared to any other part of the world. Approximately 23 million people are said to be living with the deadly virus in the region which translates to about two thirds of the universal total. In 2010 alone, around 2 million people contracted the disease while 1.2 million died in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the onset of the pandemic, over 15 million children have lost one or both of the parents to HIV and AIDS. The social- economic effects of AIDS pandemic have not only been experienced in the health sector but also in agriculture, transport, human resource, education and the economy as at large (UNAIDS 2010). HIV and AIDS is therefore a major burden and challenge to the social, health and economic development of the African continent. There can be no significant growth in the region as long as the issue of AIDS is not addressed urgently. The impact of HIV and AIDS in the African continent and the world at large cannot be down played. This means that immediate measures should be taken by the general public and governments in order to curb the ever increasing effects of HIV pandemic to the African continent. Due to the economic standing of the African continent coupled with socio-cultural practices, HIV continues to spread at an alarming rate. Any further delays to address this issue will turn out to be detrimental...
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...(acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), would not have been the topic of a major and serious worldwide catastrophe. Twenty years ago, people were not phased by the effects that would be caused by this ever so populating disease, and no one would have ever realized that this disease would not be curable or helped without expensive medicine. Like a simple exponential growth equation, the AIDS virus has increased victim numbers by about forty million all over the world. AIDS has also shown that it is not discriminating; it has infected all races and all heritages. The AIDS crisis extends far beyond its death toll, because more than seventy percent of the thirty-six million people with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. Last year alone, the disease killed 1.5 million people in Africa. One third of these victims are between the ages of ten and twenty-four. The disease has been described as a development crisis; it is profoundly disrupting the economic and social bases of families and entire nations at a rate of infection at 16,000 per day. Without immediate action, AIDS will surpass the effect of the Black Plague that killed forty million people in the late fourteenth century. It is estimated that only ten percent of the death that this disease will cause has been seen. There are no known cures or affordable vaccines to prevent AIDS; the only option is for a program to prevent further spread of the epidemic, minimize its impact, and provide care and nurture for those affected...
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...Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP) except for the Great Consolidated People’s Party (GCPP), make claims in their manifestoes to their commitment to gender issues in general and women’s concerns in particular, it is not very evident even in their party leadership structure and in their own internal organization. Some party leaders corroborated this by stating that positions are contested for and not given on the basis of one’s gender. Furthermore, it was apparent that women in politics encounter similar challenges irrespective of the party they subscribe to. Here, the common denominator is their gender. Thus, a common thread of subtle discrimination positioned in the context of competitive politics runs through all political parties. This has...
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...adulthood according to the Article 1 of the Convention on the Right of the Child. While child marriage affects both sexes, girls are disproportionately affected as they are the majority of the victims. Their overall development is compromised, leaving them socially isolated with little education, skills and opportunities for employment and self-realisation. This leaves child brides more vulnerable to poverty, a consequence of child marriage as well as a cause Child marriage is now widely recognised as a violation of children's rights, a direct form of discrimination against the girl child who as a result of the practice is often deprived of her basic rights to health, education, development and equality. Tradition, religion and poverty continue to fuel the practice of child marriage, despite its strong association with adverse reproductive health outcomes and the lack of education of girls. Where child marriage takes place? Africa, Middle East, South Asian India, Bundladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, , Indonesia Reasons behind...
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...global trends and adverse health impact of HIV, viral hepatitis, STIs, and TB remain among the major and urgent public health challenges of our time. These conditions account for substantial morbidity and mortality, with devastating fiscal and emotional costs to individuals, families, and societies. Despite decades of investment and support, the U.S. still experiences a disproportionate burden of these conditions compared with other Western industrialized nations, with substantial health disparities being observed across population subgroups and geographic regions.” (Hazel D. Dean, ScD, MPH Kevin A. Fenton, MD, PhD, 2010) This paper will focus specifically on HIV/AIDS. “ Genetic research indicates that HIV originated in west-central Africa during the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. · AIDS was first recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1981 and its cause, HIV, identified in the early 1980s. ("STOP AIDS," 2009) Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome(AIDS) is a disease caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). HIV attacks the human immune system, and progressively reduces its effectiveness, leaving the host susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors. Due to the extended incubation period, the time between being infected with the virus and the manifestation of symptoms, an infected individual can transmit these the virus to other hosts unknowingly. The period between infection and the appearance of AIDS can...
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...Orphans in Africa: Poverty and School Enrollment 483 ORPHANS IN AFRICA: PARENTAL DEATH, POVERTY, AND SCHOOL ENROLLMENT* ANNE CASE, CHRISTINA PAXSON, AND JOSEPH ABLEIDINGER We examine the impact of orphanhood on children’s school enrollment in 10 sub-Saharan African countries. Although poorer children in Africa are less likely to attend school, the lower enrollment of orphans is not accounted for solely by their poverty. We find that orphans are less likely to be enrolled than are nonorphans with whom they live. Consistent with Hamilton’s rule, the theory that the closeness of biological ties governs altruistic behavior, outcomes for orphans depend on the relatedness of orphans to their household heads. The lower enrollment of orphans is largely explained by the greater tendency of orphans to live with distant relatives or unrelated caregivers. I n a follow-up to the 2001 noted that nearlyGeneral Assembly Specialare suffering HIV/ United Nations Session on AIDS, UNAIDS researchers 40% of the countries that from a generalized AIDS epidemic lack a national policy to support children “orphaned or made vulnerable by AIDS” (Joint United Nations Programme 2003:12). This is an important issue in sub-Saharan Africa, where the death of prime-aged adults from HIV/AIDS has led to pronounced concentrations of orphans. Recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) have indicated that in Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, nearly 15% of all children under age 15 have lost...
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...decisions about people management; 3. the central involvement of line managers; 4. Reliance upon a set of ‘levers’ to shape the employment relationship. In today's litigious workplace environment, being on top of legal issues that directly affect individual employees and organization is critical to the success of the HR profession. In this study, we will critically analyze and evaluate legal issues as it affects the functions of HRM in Nigeria and USA. LEGAL ISSUES AND HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE USA In the USA, some laws regulate various aspects of employee-employer relations. These laws, which are relatively stable, facilitate the work of HR managers. Examples are: 1. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1964 forbids discrimination in all areas of employment. The law is to ensure that employment decisions are made on the...
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...URBAN SLUMS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: UNDERSTANDING THEIR ORIGINS/EVOLUTIONS AND METHODS FOR IMPROVEMENT Leanna Medal and Mark Boyer Department of Landscape Architecture University of Arkansas ABSTRACT: Currently, it is estimated that one billion people live in urban slums and the expectation is that the number will double in the next twenty-five years (Tibaijuka 2005). Of all the geographical areas in the world, sub-Saharan Africa has the worst record of meeting the Millennium Development Goals and has the highest percentage of slums dwellers as a percentage of the urban population (Hugo Ahlenius (UNEP/GRID-Arendal) 2005; UN-HABITAT 2003b). Many of the UN Millennium Development Goals could achieve maximum effects if urban slums were targeted for improvements due to the large populations they constitute. While some attention is being given to improving the conditions of urban slums, the progress is slow and there appears to be a scarcity of information about what is being done and if it is working. Slums have evolved from their origins in Britain‟s industrialization in the 18th century through the social reformers of the 19th century to today‟s slums, which are deemed unsafe because of a lack of basic infrastructure and services. Additionally, three cases studies of improvement projects in subSaharan Africa give some insight into potential successful improvement methods, however, much of these plans are yet to be implemented. KEYWORDS: urban slums, sub-Saharan Africa, informal settlements...
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...Ousman P.V. Jassey Professor Frink English 112 10 April 2009 Should Abortion be banned? Abortion is one of the most controversial issues in our societies and politics today. Since 1973, when the Supreme Court of the United States of America legalized abortion in its landmark Roe vs Wade decision, the opposing groups of abortion have sought to increase or restrict access to abortion, leading to intense debates among pro-life and pro-choice political leaders and activists both at state and federal governments levels and as well as religious organizations. The abortion debate is often considered a two-sided controversy; however, the issue involves questions about biology, morality and religion and legal rights. For example, people who consider themselves as pro-life activists argue that abortion destroys human life, which they believe begins at conception. As a result, the pro-life activists regarded abortion as immoral and should be illegal and abandoned. Some of the moderate pro-life advocates allow exceptions in the cases of rapes, incest, or if mother’s health is at risk. People who identify themselves as pro-choice activists contend that every woman has a right to make decision concerning her body and her future outweighs the right of the fetus. Some pro-choice supporters endorse restrictions on abortion, such as informed consent laws, which require that a woman receive state-authored literature on abortion before undergoing the procedure, and mandatory waiting...
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...Clash Of civilisation The Clash of Civilizations (COC) is a hypothesis that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. It was proposed by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington in a 1992 lecture at the American Enterprise Institute, which was then developed in a 1993 Foreign Affairs article titled "The Clash of Civilizations? in response to his former student Francis Fukuyama's 1992 book, The End of History and the Last Man. Huntington later expanded his thesis in a 1996 book. Huntington began his thinking by surveying the diverse theories about the nature of global politics in the post-Cold War period. Some theorists and writers argued that human rights, liberal democracy, and capitalist free market economy had become the only remaining ideological alternative for nations in the post-Cold War world. Specifically, Francis Fukuyama argued that the world had reached the 'end of history' in a Hegelian sense. Huntington believed that while the age of ideology had ended, the world had only reverted to a normal state of affairs characterized by cultural conflict. In his thesis, he argued that the primary axis of conflict in the future will be along cultural and religious lines. As an extension, he posits that the concept of different civilizations, as the highest rank of cultural identity, will become increasingly useful in analyzing the potential for conflict. In the 1993 Foreign Affairs article, Huntington writes: ...
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...Groups Risa Garelick November 23, 2011 AFRICAN AMERICAN STRUGGLES 2 African American Struggles African Americans are knows to face various issues throughout their lives. From being discriminated against, to trying to fit into society, African Americans still have problems because they are considered to be the minority (McGhee, 2010). African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendents of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States. Most African Americans are of West African descent and make up the single largest racial minority in the United States (African American Studies, 2001). Due to the fact that African Americans are minorities, they face problems in today’s world. Unlike the civil rights movement in the 1960s, African Americans today are not fighting for basic civil rights such as the right to vote and the right to attend non segregated schools. Many of the challenges are more subtle. The struggle would involve things like fighting negative stereotypes, pushing against institutional barriers that have been strengthened by those in favor of maintaining a historical precedent or the status quo, and fighting for equal opportunities (McGhee, 2010). For the most part, African Americans are still thought of to be part of the lower class...
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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 and...
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...CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Transforming gender relations in Ghana agenda will remain so for some time to come. In spite of decades of gender equity activism and public efforts which had been undertaken in the last three decades within the ambit of electoral policies, the transformation process was stalled with many challenges. In the gender equality intervention, especially following the Beijing declaration of 1995, the agenda has been pursued in some societies as if it is only women’s business. Initially, some gender equality activities were undertaken as if it was a battle between women and men. In certain instances some men thought that promotion of gender equality or women’s empowerment was an attempt to take their power from then and give to women such misconceptions have made gender equality measure for empowerment of women face some resistance from both males and some females who believe that governance of society and women must be under the control of men. A critical explanation of gender will, however, reveal that the gender strategy rather recognizes the relationship between males and females and for that matter the need to support each other to attain their maximum best in society, efforts have, therefore, been recently intensified at the international level to promote the involvement of males for attainment of gender equality. The question then is how do we harness the male support for the promotion of gender equality? It is within this context that this term...
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...killed some 20 million people. (1) The HIV/AIDS epidemic, first identified in 1981, remains among the greatest threats to global health. (2) AIDS has an unprecedented impact on the economy and society because it kills so many adults in the prime of their working lives; it decimates the workforce, impoverishes families, and shreds communities. To summarize, in the worst affected areas it is actually reversing the development gains made over the last four decades. In many cases the disease threatens to eliminate around twenty percent of the workforce. AIDS has an overwhelming impact on developing economies because, unlike other diseases, it kills young and middle-aged adults who are often healthy and productive members of society. In sub-Saharan Africa and many other regions in the world, more women than ever before are living with HIV/AIDS. Further research that reflects the voices of these women is essential. (5). Because of this epidemic both adds to companies' labor costs and slows growth rates in many developing economies. The disease is shared by the developing world where eighty-five percent of AIDS cases are present in the world’s poorer countries. In these regions infection rates continue to rise but in more affluent countries like the United States and Western Europe are in different positions where there is a sense that the AIDS epidemic is under control. That feeling is in thanks to new discoveries in science, innovation in public policy, and behavior changes. Whether...
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...ESSAY 3 HEALTH IN THE TROPICS STATE OF THE TROPICS causes of mortality. Improvements in quality of life through improved health are harder to quantify accurately at scale. Life Expectancy Life expectancy is covered in detail elsewhere in the State of the Tropics, and reports that between 1950 and 2010 the gap between life expectancy in the Tropics and the Rest of the World has narrowed. Over this period life expectancy in the Tropics increased by 22.8 years to 64.4 years and infant mortality reduced by 36%. The rate of change of mortality and morbidity has increased over the last two decades influenced by a range of different factors. Underlying life expectancy data are aggregated data, collected by the WHO to document the changing patterns of mortality. Table E3.1 provides the top ten causes of mortality in rank order over the last decade. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for two-thirds of global deaths in 2011 and infectious diseases for one-third. In 2000 the relative proportions were 60% NCDs and 40% infectious diseases. This rapid shift reflects the massive scale up in recent efforts to prevent and treat a number of major infectious diseases. Although improvements in maternal and child mortality have been made these still remain unacceptably high. In 2011, 6.9 million children under the age of five died, 99% of these in low and middle income countries. Malaria, despite the enormous scale up in control activities still ...
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