Spread of HIV in US and South Africa

Question:

Discuss about the Political Journey of Stigmatized Perspectives.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has become one of the most deadly and life taking diseases of the twenty first century. According to recent UN report approximately 22 million people have already dies globally and another 40 million people are currently is suffering from HIV (United Nations, 2017). These illnesses have spread on a much rapid phase, as well accompanied by poor health, death, poverty and misery along with it. The African continent is one of the most badly affected countries that have been affected by the epidemic of HIV, although it is still in its earlier stages in other parts of the world. The HIV epidemic is not only the reason of death of millions but also affecting their families, communities and economies by imposing heavy burdens. Even the wretchedness and damage of HIV has already been felt in large but according to United Nations, the coming generations will have to face the worst effect of this disease.

HIV is a retrovirus which causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) which is a human disease where an individual’s body defence or immunity system slowly fails as a result contaminated by severe infections and other diseases. One of the most common noted from of getting infected by AIDS viruses are transmission through unprotected sex with an individual who is infected by the HIV viruses. This can happen in both heterosexual as well as homosexual unprotected sexual intercourse. Other possible human behaviours which can transmit HIV AIDS viruses are breast feeding to new born whose mothers are already infected by the virus, using used needles and razors by HIV patients, and HIV contaminated mothers pass on the virus to the newborn during birth. Although till date there has been no cure for HIV AIDS, there are some treatments that needs lifelong utilization of a blend of anti-retroviral drugs and a cocktail of other drugs to deal with any other probable infections.

In the following article, the author has focused USA and South Africa as the countries of observation because to examine the governmental and communal  response to the occurring changes due to rising concern of HIV AIDS.

Sex workers are generally the social out caste in most of the developed as well as underdeveloped nations. Therefore, they generally belong to the social and economically poorer section of the society with little no access to basic education, health care system and usually engaged in illegal sexual activities. Like, in US prostitution is not legalized and it has been observed that most of the HIV infected population are a street prostitute who does not have the access to health care system or the knowledge of HIV preventive methods. The situation is similarly worst in South Africa as most of the sex workers or prostitutes belong to the economically deprived communities therefore they are forced to work in the flesh trade industry for quick bucks, as a result most of them come into this industry at a very early stage of their life when they have little to no knowledge about the risks of being contaminated by AIDS viruses, therefore they get infected before realizing (Bennett, et al, 2010). The situations in organized sex industry like escort services and brothels are much in control. Also, sex workers from both US and South Africa are more vulnerable towards infecting HIV viruses are due to criminalization that leaves them helplessly accepting in engaging in unprotected sex, sexual abuses with impunity and condom elimination by law enforcement officers as evidence of them. As a result, the extensive sexual abuse and physical violent behaviour by clients, law enforcement officers and other factors leads to HIV infections to a greater extent (Mukandavire, et al. (2010). In a recent study that was conducted in six nations and that includes South Africa as well as USA showed that sex workers who carry condoms are regularly harassed and under pressure from polices as a result sex workers prefer not to carry condoms with them and engages in un-protective sexual activities (Reif, et al. 2011). Also, sometimes sex workers have to negotiate and become powerless victims for performing un-protective sex with their clients which also increases the risk of HIV transmission.  Therefore, often the sex workers act as the bridge or the medium for transmitting HIV viruses from one male to another.

Impact on sex workers

Generally, HIV has an enormous psychological, communal, and economic impact on the infected individual as well as on the society and economy as a whole. One of the most effected groups who suffer a disproportionate HIV burden is the sex workers. Although developed nations like USA provides sex worker specific HIV infected and risk behaviour predictions regularly in UNAIDS reports. Still it has been observed that the sex workers remain evidently missing from the US domestic HIV policies. The US’s national surveillance system fall short of disaggregate the risks, threat and also treatment results associated with HIV that considers sex workers (Berger, 2010). The report also fails to include sex exchange as a potential transmission method for spread of HIV diseases. It has been observed that the CDC website of US that is dedicated to sex workers and HIV also fall short of data and preventive recommendations for the sex workers. As a result, due to shortage of data and inability to develop an effective a national HIV response focusing the heterosexual sex workers, they continue to become invisible and as a result they are marginalized in the policy of US.

On the other hand the rising number of affected sex workers with HIV disease is also alarming. It is estimated that more than sixty percent of the total number of female sex workers in South Africa are affected by AIDS viruses (Karim & Karim, 2010). Although the study was carried out in 2014, the sample size was relatively small; as a result most scholars argue the hidden population that still exists in remote areas who was not covered in the survey. Although, the South African government has recently taken note of the rising issue of HIV epidemic among the sex workers and taken many legislative steps and policies to prevent the disease to spread (East & Africa, 2010). Generally, sex works have ore number of sexual partners who engages in unprotected sexual activities as a result, the sex workers become more open towards getting infected and transmitting the HIV viruses into multiple partners.

To address the increasing risks of HIV AIDS viruses in both US and South Africa, the government has acted in reforming their policy to address the issue. One of the main shortcomings in the process is due to lack of appropriate resources to enforce such policy measures.  The US government has implemented National HIV AIDS Strategy (NHAS) but the strategy is not sufficiently funded as a result it is not a successful campaign. On the other hand, the South African Government has facing many problems and limitations in implementing an effective HIV treatment policy due to lack of funding and proper resources.   

Challenges faced by sex workers

Society plays a bigger role in the rising concerns of HIV AIDS and its effects, as stigmatization by the society intensifies its impact, as it hold back the preventive methods and managing HIV affected patients (Blas & Kurup, 2010). It also obstructs social support systems as families abandon the affected when the HIV status is disclosed. As a result, most of the time, the HIV patients and affected individuals prefer to keep in closet rather than going for medical and other legislative help from the government. As, most of the HIV population belongs from the lower socio-economic strata they have poor access to education, health care system and diagnosis system, they also fails to effort the expensive and lifelong medical treatments (Dean & Fenton, 2010).  In USA, it has been observed that most of the sex workers who are affected by the HIV viruses belong to the African American community and also the risks of getting infected by HIV virus is twenty times more for an African American female than a white American female (CDC, 2017). Therefore, it can be observed that how gender, ethnic inequity, and financial deficiency robustly put forward sex exchange as a method that social determinants manipulate HIV.

Conclusion:

HIV AIDS is one of the most devastating epidemics that have been witnessed in human history and it has been responsible for taking more lives every year. Yet there is a lack of proper long term strategy and policies to address the issue. Ignorance, lack of proper health care facilities, poverty, social stigma and lack of knowledge and awareness are the factors which are facilitating in the spread of the epidemic virus.  The rising issue of HIV virus needs an immediate attention on a global scale. Even developed nations like USA and South Africa are inadequate in effective handling of the epidemic due to lack of proper infrastructure and awareness. Therefore, in conclusion it can be stated that to avoid the devastating future consequences of the HIV epidemic, the world leaders and other governmental and non governmental institutions should come forward in addressing the issue and take subsequent and effective measures and policies though equality and awareness.

Reference:

Bennett, L., Hankins, C., & Sherr, L. (2013). AIDS as a gender issue: psychosocial perspectives. Taylor & Francis.

Berger, M. T. (2010). Workable sisterhood: The political journey of stigmatized women with HIV/AIDS. Princeton University Press.

Blas, E., & Kurup, A. S. (Eds.). (2010). Equity, social determinants and public health programmes. World Health Organization.

CDC. (2017). Today’s HIV/AIDS Epidemic. www.cdc.gov. Retrieved 3 October 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/factsheets/todaysepidemic-508.pdf

Dean, H. D., & Fenton, K. A. (2010). Addressing social determinants of health in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, and tuberculosis. url: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00333549101250S401

East, S., & Africa, S. S. (2010). Towards universal access: scaling up priority HIV/AIDS interventions in the health sector. Europe, 85(000).

Karim, S. A., & Karim, Q. A. (Eds.). (2010). HIV/Aids in South Africa. Cambridge University Press.

Mukandavire, Z., Das, P., Chiyaka, C., & Nyabadza, F. (2010). Global analysis of an HIV/AIDS epidemic model. World Journal of Modelling and Simulation, 6(3), 231-240. URl: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.571.5597&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Reif, S., Whetten, K., Wilson, E., & Gong, W. (2011). HIV/AIDS epidemic in the South reaches crisis proportions in last decade. Duke Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research. url: https://chpir.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/HIVAIDS-Epidemic-in-the-South-Reaches-Crisis-Proportions-in-Last-Decade.pdf

United Nations. (2017). global-AIDS-update-2016. https://www.unaids.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017, from https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/global-AIDS-update-2016_en.pdf