InternationalHumanitarianIssues:ReducingHIV/AIDS

Inthe1980s,theworldwastakenaback,aspeoplewatchedtheirfriendsandfamily

experienceexcruciatingpain,fightingfortheirlivesagainstaninvisibleenemy,theAIDS
pandemic.Sincethehugeoutbreakoftheimmunodeficiencyvirusor"AIDS,"avirusthat
weakenstheimmunesystemofthehost,in1981,millionsofAmericansandpeopleworldwide
havefelttheharsheffectsofthisdeadly,incurablevirus.Manyhavebeeninfectedwithorhave
lostalovedonetothevirus.In1994,AIDSandHIVbecameoneoftheleadingcausesofdeath
ofyoungandmiddleagedadultsintheUnitedStates.Inmodernity,AIDSisnotaslethalasit
oncewas,duetoadvancesinmodernmedicineintheUnitedStatessuchas,typesofmedicinal
therapytotreatthediseaseandvariousprescriptionstoreducetheeffectsofAIDSonpatients.
Although,manycountriesaroundtheworlddonothaveaccesstothesesortoftherapiesor
medicine,causingAIDStoremainjustasdeadlyasitwasthirtyyearsagoinmany
underdevelopedcountries.Furthermore,manypeopleinthesecountriesarenotawareastohow
topreventfromcontractingorspreadingAIDSorHIVresultinginacontinualandquickspread
ofthedisease.Despitetheimmenseneedforaid,someAmericansbelievethatitisnottheirduty
orourcountry'sdutytohelpothersoutsideoftheUnitedStatesandthatallinternalaffairs
shouldbesolvedfirst,beforegivingaidtoothercountries.Onthecontrary,itwouldbein
America'sbestinteresttogranttenmilliondollarstovariouscharitableorganisationsbecause
theseorganisationscanhelptopreventthespreadofHIVandAIDSinunderdeveloped
countries,provideresourcestotreatthediseases,andpreventchildrenfrombeingorphanedand
womensuppressed.

Inunderdevelopedcountries,peopleareoftennotawareofsomeseriousillnesseslike

HIVandAIDS,oratleastdonotknowhowtopreventgettingthem.Thisiswhymanycountries
inAfrica(specificallytheSubSaharanarea),aswellasCentralAsiahavesuchhugespreadof
AIDSandHIVthroughouttheirpopulations.ManydonotknowanythingaboutAIDSandHIV,
letalonethattheyaresexuallytransmitteddiseases.Onesourceestimates,thatsincetheoutbreak
oftheimmunodeficiencyvirus(HIV),in1981,
perhapsupto110millionHIVinfectionsand25
millionAIDScasesbytheturnofthecentury
"
("TheRelationship"
).Peopleinunderdeveloped
countriesneedtobeeducatedassoonaspossibleinordertopreventfurtherfutureinfectionsof
othersinunderdevelopedcountries.Like,thevariousmeansinwhichthevirusescanbe
transmitted,asTheWorldHealthOrganisationclaims,Throughunprotectedsexualintercourse
(analorvaginal),transfusionofcontaminatedblood,sharingofcontaminatedneedles,and
betweenamotherandherinfantduringpregnancy,childbirthandbreastfeeding(HIV/AIDS).
Manypeoplearenoteducatedinhowtopreventcontractingthediseasesliketheimportanceof
decreasingtheoddsofcontractingAIDSorHIVbyhavingasmallnumberofsexualpartners
comparedtomanyandwhenpeoplearesexuallyactive,thattheyalwaysusecondoms(Heise,
Elias).Providingthiseducationandsupplieswouldsavemillionsofpeople,butmostless
developedcountriesdonothavethemoneytoprovidesuchresources.

Manycountriesthroughouttheworldwhichareataneconomicdisadvantagedonothave

theopportunityorthemoneytotreatHIVandAIDSsothevirusescontinuetospreadat
alarmingrates.Countriesthroughouttheworldarelackinginresourceslikecondomsand
antiretroviraltherapyallowingmoreandmorepeopletobeinfectedwithAIDSandHIVeach
day.TreatmentisextremelyimportantastheCDCexplains,"
Highlyactiveantiretroviral

therapy(HAART)hasincreasedthelifeexpectancyofthoseinfectedwithHIVby31.2
years"
("HIVCosteffectiveness"
).Peoplewhoobtaintreatmentcanincreasetheirexpected
longevityandareabletocontinueonwiththeirlivesandsupporttheirfamiliesiftheyhaveone.
AccordingtotheCDC,onlythirtyfivepercentofpeoplewhodesperatelyrequireHIVtherapy
actuallyreceiveit
("HIVCosteffectiveness"
).Thisalarminglylownumbershowshowhighthe
demandisfortreatmentinunderdevelopedcountriesandhowmuchhelpisneededinthese
affectedcountries.
Inadditiontothelackoftreatmentandknowledgeavailabletothoseinunderdeveloped
countries,thereisalsoalackofequalityforwomen.Women'srightsisahugelinkbetweenthe
reductionofAIDSandHIVthroughouttheworld.Onereason,accordingtoadivisionofthe
U.S.StateDepartment,isduetothefactthatWomenfromagesfifteentotwentyfouraccount
foroverhalfofnewHIVcaseseveryyearduetogenderbasedviolence"("WhyReaching").
In
otherwords,thetrendinviolenceandsuppresiontowardswomenresultsinsexualabusebymen
inmanyunderdevelopedcountrieswherethechancesofcontractingAIDSandHIVare
extremelyhigh.Throughouthistory,womenhavebeensuppressedandtakenadvantageof,many
Americansarenotawarethatthishistorycontinuestodayaswomenendureabuseinother
countriesonadaytodaybasis.Oneauthorexplains,Disproportionatelypoorandwithlittle
powertonegotiatethetermsofsexualencounters,womenoftencannotavailthemselvesofthese
lifesavingstrategies.Womenneedbothanewcommitmenttoaddressingtheunderlying
inequitiesthatheightentheirrisk,andnewtechnologiesthatprovidethemwithameansofHIV
protectionwithintheirpersonalcontrol
(Heise,Elias)
.Astheauthorexplained,underlying
inequalitiespreventwomenfromobtainingtheresourcesandknowledgetheyneedtoprevent

AIDSandHIV,accountingfortheenormousnumberofwomenwhohavecontractedtheviruses
inunderdevelopedcountries.
InadditiontowomenbeinglargelyaffectedbyAIDSandHIV,
childrenendureahugeimpactduetothevirusesaswell.Manyparentsinunderdeveloped
countriesbecomeinfectedwithAIDSorHIVandpassawayleavingtheirchildrenorphaned,and
withoutfoodoraroofovertheirheads.AccordingtotheU.S.StateDepartment,therearetwenty
millionchildrenwhohavebeenorphanedduetoHIVandAIDSworldwide("Africas"6).
Orphanedchildrenareatahugeriskofendangermentandmanyofthesechildrendonotliveto
reachadulthood.WiththepreventionofAIDS/HIVwithinfamilies,womenandchildrencould
growupwellintooldage,livinginasafeenvironment.
Somebelievethatfundingprojectssuchasthisonearetooexpensive,thattheUnited
Statesisindebtedenoughalreadyandneedstofocusmoreoninternalissues.Manymore
conservativecitizensbelievethattheirtaxmoneyneedstobefocusedtowardshelping
themselvesandtheirfamiliesinsteadofthosewhoarenotcitizensoftheUnitedStates.While
theUnitedStatesmayneedtofundinternalprojectsaswell,itisimperativethatagrantis
providedtoeducateandtreatthoseinfectedwithHIVandAIDSinothercountries.thepriceof
theprojectasawholeisrelativelysmallcomparedtothevariousotheraffairsbeingfundedin
theUnitedStates,whicharetrivialcomparedtotheimportanceofworldhealth,likeroadwork
andmaintenanceofroadsforexample,thecostofsupportingthefighttoendAIDSandHIVis
almostbillionsofdollarscheaper.Asofnow,theUnitedStatesoffersaidtoonly26other
countries,averyminutenumbercomparedtothesevenbillionpeoplewhoresideinthisworld
andthe65millionpeoplewhohavecontractedthediseasesincethebeginningofthe
pandemic
("TheGlobalHIV/AIDS").
Withthesmallpricerequiredfortheproject,various

organisationscouldmakeahugedifferenceontheworldweliveinandcouldbenefitallof
humanitybyendingthespreadofAIDSandHIVbetweenandwithincountriesworldwide.
Underdevelopedcountriesaretoodeepintopovertyandareattoohighofadisadvantage
tobecompletelyselfproductiveandneedthehelpofcountriesliketheUnitedStatestomakea
differenceinthewaragainstAIDSandHIV.Fundingisneededforcharitableorganisationstobe
abletotopreventthespreadofHIVandAIDSthrougheducationandendorsingtheuseof
condoms,aswellas,toprovideotherresourcestotreatthediseases.Subsequently,womens
equalityineverynationworldwidewouldhugelyincreaseasAIDSandHIVdecreases.Withthe
reductionofAIDSandHIVcomesthepotentialforbasichumanrightsincountrieswhichare
lackinginthisaspect.Womencouldgainstatusandrespect,andremainunhinderedbyAIDSor
HIVintheirsocieties.ByendorsinganAIDS/HIVprojectthehealthoftheentireworldwould
increaseasthespreadofAIDSandHIVwithinandbetweencountriescouldbereducedto
nothing,supportingdecenthealthforallhumanbeings,.IfweasAmericanshadremainedinthe
shadowsbefore,unwillingtohelpthoseinfectedwithAIDSorHIV,nowisourchancefor
redemption.Now,isthetimetohelpnotjustourselves,butallofhumanity.

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