Nearly two thirds of the the world's HIV positive individuals live in sub-Saharan Africa, and over 75 percent of AIDS-related deaths occur in Africa. The epidemic is ravaging the continent, and only diligent measures to stop the spread will be effective in saving millions of Africans.
Instructions
Prevention of HIV Transmission
1. Help women become economically self-sufficient. The main means of HIV transmission in Africa is through heterosexual intercourse. Many women are dependent on their husbands for household security, and many more turn to casual sex work to supplement their incomes. Programs that help women become economically self-sufficient will allow them to refuse unsafe sex practices, reducing heterosexual and mother-to-child transmission.
2. Make condoms available. Research has confirmed that the use of condoms is the most efficient and effective way to reduce the risk of HIV infection from sexual intercourse. Both male and female condoms need to be available, and information about the correct use of condoms needs to be taught in schools, clinics and churches in gender-neutral language.
3. Increase education about and access to testing. The majority of people living in Africa do not know their HIV status. Free testing services are not readily available, especially in rural areas, where most of the population lives. The stigmas attached to HIV infection often discourage those with access from learning their HIV status. Emphasizing the importance of knowing one's status and increasing the availability of free testing services will lead to greater knowledge of individual statuses, and hopefully translate into safer sex practices.
Treating HIV / AIDS
4. Provide free antiretroviral medications. Some combinations of medications have been used in Western countries to reduce HIV viral loads to undetectable levels. The costs of these drugs are prohibitive for almost everyone in Africa. Programs that provide free or highly subsidized antiretroviral drugs can make a huge impact on the length and quality of HIV positive patients' lives in Africa.
5. Increase access to supportive care. Many AIDS patients in Africa suffer, and die, from preventable and treatable opportunistic infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and malaria. Increasing the availability of and access to public health clinics and free medications will alleviate the diseases that arise as results of compromised immune systems.
6. Provide nutritional support. Many HIV / AIDS patients in Africa suffer concurrently from nutritional deficiencies and even hunger. Their bodies are not strong enough to mount effective responses against the infections and syndromes that accompany HIV and AIDS. Programs that provide quality nutritional support, both food and vitamins, can assist in prolonging the lives of AIDS patients in Africa.
Tags: AIDS patients, AIDS patients Africa, patients Africa, Programs that, Africa suffer, become economically