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AIDS in Africa

© Shawn Nicholls

AIDS is a scary disease. Fortunately, there are many precautions that can greatly reduce the chance of contracting HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS, as well as new drugs that help decrease pain and suffering for the infected

The downside however is that for many people around the world, information on the disease and the precautions necessary to stay healthy are unavailable. Especially in Third World countries where population density is high, "sex workers" are common and other diseases are rampant, the number of individuals contracting and eventually dying from AIDS is on the rise. In Africa alone 26 million people are infected, with many of them residing in South Africa. In Burma, 50% of the adult population has the disease.

For many ridiculous reasons, the problem is just not being attacked. The developed countries dedicated to helping the less fortunate of the world refuse to make efforts to stop the disease before it spreads by offering educational assistance. Furthermore, the powerful drug companies worldwide seem content on boosting profits and cutting costs rather than saving lives.

However, an April 19th decision in South Africa may start things in the right direction. For quite some time, the drug industry has been building a lawsuit against a South African law that would enable the government to purchase generic AIDS drugs from alternate companies at cheaper costs, thus making them available to more of its people. The stance of the drug companies was simple: by allowing competitors who offer lower prices into the global market, their profits would go down. Thus the major companies came together and sought to block the law from becoming active.

In the beginning they were discouraged from such action by many health organizations around the world. Their argument was simple as well: let the people in Africa survive. But the drug companies were indifferent to human life in this particular situation. So the nonprofit groups worked hard and began to verbally assault the corporations in the media. When they started to be looked at extremely negative in the global marketplace, the drug companies were forced to retreat and take their losses.

As for AIDS in Africa, a major roadblock has been removed. But that doesn’t guarantee improvements in the future. First, the law will not take effect for several months. Second, even though AIDS drugs will be available at cheaper prices, they will still be unaffordable to millions of Africans. Furthermore, AIDS will continue to flourish regardless of the drugs because it is constantly spreading and there is no cure. While modern science is getting close, we are not able to stop it from being deadly. Poor living conditions, the spread of other diseases, and unsafe drinking water all increase the deadliness of AIDS, often times regardless of drug intervention. They need the medicine to go on living, but without other improvements the drugs will be useless.

The copyright of the article AIDS in Africa in Globalization is owned by Shawn Nicholls. Permission to republish AIDS in Africa in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.