HIV/AIDS (Summary)

Consequences

Strategies

Effects

Causes

Infected blood transfusions

Infection can be passed on from mother to foetus during pregnancy

Babies drinking the breast milk of an infected woman

Lack of preventative care, advice or medication

Having unprotected sex with an infected person

Lack of education on how the disease is transmitted

Drug users sharing dirty needles

The death rate will increase and life expectancy decreases

In countries like South Africa or Uganda where AIDS is endemic, children may be left without parents and brought up without grandparents. Entire middle-aged populations may be missing from societies

Development may be hindered which leads to fewer jobs and less wealth in a country

There may also be a loss of tourist revenue

AIDS leads to people being unable to work, lowering the productivity and potential wealth of a country

Compulsory testing for AIDS is also used to identify those with the disease

Large-scale projects such as the Global Aids Initiative

AIDS awareness campaigns, such as UNAIDS World AIDS Day, are used to highlight the dangers and causes of AIDS

There is increased funding to tackle the disease some of which is put into research into developing an AIDS vaccine

The distribution of free condoms was also designed to help people practise safe sex

In developed countries drug therapy programmes do help to control the disease and prolong the lives of AIDS sufferers

Health education programmes which are normally on TV and radio as a number of people in the affected areas may be illiterate.

Blood is also screened before use in transfusions and disposable syringes are used in hospitals. Availability of testing is also important so that people know if they have the disease and can take actions to ensure it is not spread

There is still no cure for AIDS so most efforts concentrate on prevention

Developed countries

Developing countries

Can afford to research and trial new drugs

Countries with good quality health services have managed to reduce the spread of the disease, although drug therapy ca produce serious side effects

Can afford the drugs available

Medication has so far not been overly effective

Many people are not aware they have the disease, which causes it to spread

There are many misconceptions about the spread of HIV

There are many isolated areas which are difficult to access

There is a high birth rate, even among infected women

Drugs are available, but not enough staff are trained in administering them, eg in South Africa

Testing facilities are often poor

Some people try to avoid being tested

Newer, more effective drugs or those with fewer side effects are too expensive and drug companies are not willing to reduce prices

Large numbers of the population are illiterate which makes educational campaigns difficult

There may also be many different local dialects and languages

Countries may have other priorities in terms of spending