Final Research Paper HIV/AIDS

Esmeralda Santa

English 21003, Section M

Professor Matyakubova

28 November 2017

Final Research Paper

                                              Deadliest Epidemic in Modern History

Abstract

      To this day HIV/AIDS is still incurable and it has lead countless of people to their deathbed. The number of deaths reported each year by the United Nations keep reaching new peaks and it is unacceptable that the government is not taking the necessary steps to stop the disease from spreading. The government is spending big bucks on other kind of causes such as education or space exploration, but when it comes to HIV/AIDS prevention the funds provided has been minimal. Due to the government's lack of action, this paper will discuss the importance of the government needing to provide funds and how HIV/AIDS is affecting people. Also the solutions the government should take will be discussed. 

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Funds, Economic stability, HIV treatments, HIV prevention programs 

Deadliest Epidemic in Modern History

Introduction

       In 2016, 1 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses worldwide and a reported 36.7 million people were living with HIV (unaids.com). Since it was first clinically discovered in 1981 this deadly disease has spread all over the world, affecting all types of people. Human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) is considered deadly because it targets the immune system of people and it weakens their defense against infections and other kinds of cancers (World Health Organization). Despite these high number of deaths governments of high developed and less developed countries have failed to take the adequate amount of action to stop the disease. Critics have stated that the governments has provided enough funds to HIV/AIDS prevention programs and spend countless amount of money on research groups. Nevertheless, each day HIV/AIDS takes the life of another person and the numbers are projected to keep on rising. Thus, the government should provide more funds, so that patients are not left in a state of poverty, people’s health does not decline, or people label HIV/AIDS patients as outcasts in society.

Body

        Often times some people believe that HIV and AIDS mean the same thing, but on the contrary they are results of each other. HIV is a virus that enters your immune system and destroys white blood cells called T-helper cells, while making copies of itself inside the T-helper cells (avert.org). This creates a problem because as the virus makes copies of itself, it also destroys the immune system. AIDS on the other hand, is not a virus but a set of symptoms caused by the HIV virus (avert.org). AIDS is considered the last stage of HIV and it occurs when the immune system is just too weak to “fight off the infection and they develop certain defining symptoms and illnesses” (avert.org). AIDS is considered the dangerous stage because if a person does not treat it, they will die.

         A known quote that has gone around is “having HIV/AIDS is expensive” because it can destroy the economy of a family. A family can one day go from being part of the middle class to sinking down to the poor class because they are in debt due to medical bills and payments for treatments. A study was done by the United Nations in which they tried to see how HIV/AIDS has impacted the families in Africa. In the study, the researchers give a list of what expenses a family would have to deal with when dealing with HIV/AIDS. First, once a person gets infected with the disease, they have to leave work which results in a loss of income. If the person is the breadwinner of the family this has a long term effect on the family because if the person dies it becomes a “permanent loss” (Impact of AIDS, 39). Than, the savings of the family would gradually decrease because they would have to spend a lot of money on medical costs. This kind of spending can lead to “lower levels of consumption and production”, taking away from what a family would normally enjoy such as food or clothing (39). Lastly as stated before if the affected person dies, the family is left to pay for funeral expenses or other kinds of mourning costs. More interestingly, the UN research group determined two ways that two social classes would be affected with HIV/AIDS:

         The relationship between poverty and the cost of AIDS to households can be visualized in two             levels. First AIDS can push families into poverty. Second, a household that was already poor                may become further impoverished. (39)

A family can really suffer financially from a family member getting HIV/AIDS. The impact can be such a burden that it could leave a family living by scraps. 

         The study conducted by the United Nations proved to be the destiny of many families in Africa if someone was infected with HIV/AIDS. In an interview conducted with a teacher, she first handedly experienced the economic challenges of HIV/AIDS when her mom died of the disease. The teacher is named Mrs.Naquia and at the age of 16, she and her brother would wake up and worry whether they would get a meal that day. She lived in Nigeria and once her mom died, she had to give up her education and work double shifts at a factory. When asked if HIV made her poor, she agreed stating that “My brother and I went from eating 3 meals a day to sometimes going to bed hungry. I no longer owned any possessions such as toys, CD’s. I had to give up or leave everything behind” (Naquia). The story of Mrs. Naquia is common among many families in Africa who deal with the same struggles when HIV/AIDS takes away the “breadwinner” of the house. Africa is known to be country hardest hit by the epidemic and one of the issues this country also deals with is poverty. Thus, many have linked a correlation of HIV/AIDS causing poverty for the country. In the journal article, Poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa, the author states that “the disease attacks like the domino effect, the first impact leaves the family in rags, second impact is the economy and third the nation”(Whiteside 320). In this article the author also describes many stories similar to Mrs. Naquia, where in the beginning the dependents suffer from economic stability. When HIV/AIDS attacks a family, it will not only affect the family, but the country as a whole. For this reason it is essential that the government puts more emphasis on the need for change in the cure for HIV/AIDS because many are suffering: Children, elders, and adults.

          The urgent need for action by the government is evident in the declining health of those who suffer from the HIV/AIDS. The disease can be transmitted in three ways: exposure to infected bodily fluids, from mother to baby during pregnancy, and through sexual conduct (Medical News Today). When a person is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, it does not immediately mean that they are given a death sentence, but instead they still have a chance to expand their life if they receive the correct treatments. If the treatments are not available they will most likely suffer a lot of pain. According to the article, FamilyDoctor.org, a person who does not get treatment will experience weight loss, fever, cough, diarrhea, and shortness of breath. These symptoms will only continue to worsen as the days go by. In an article titled, Why some with HIV still can’t get treatment the author claims, “One third of Americans diagnosed with HIV are not receiving any kind of treatments” and according to the HIV website, “Currently only 60% of people know their status. The remaining 40%, 14 million people, still need to access HIV testing services” (HIV.gov). These claims show that although there are treatment programs available, they are not reaching the vast majority of people. People are not able to access the treatments because they usually can not afford them or some have complained that the treatments are not effective enough, meaning that they spend countless money on the treatments and in the end they see no results. These kind of issues make people with HIV/AIDS live with the disease and their health is greatly affected. The government needs to implant better treatments for HIV/AIDS patients which can be achieved by providing more funds to the existing programs, so that patients are not left to fight the disease alone. 

             If the government was able to provide more funds to HIV/AIDS treatment programs, people diagnosed with the disease would not have to deal with the discrimination in society that is usually implemented by the media. The necessity of helping patients with HIV/AIDS is critical in allowing them to advance in their community. Throughout history HIV/AIDS patients have received the most backlash from media leading to inaccurate information being spread. There was a time in history where people did not want to be near any person who had HIV/AIDS because they feared that they were contagious. In the Journal article, Discrimination against HIV-infected people and spread of HIV, the author conducts a national survey to see how HIV patients are treated in their community. The author states, “Of 4,963 HIV-infected patients surveyed, 54% of respondents reported experience of discrimination in their close social environment (relative, friends, and colleagues)” (Watel 2). This shows how the mentality of “HIV is contagious like the flu” is still common today. In fact the survey conducted by Watel would have corresponded to another individual who experienced the same backlash just because he had HIV. In a Times article, The Photo that changed the face of AIDS, Ben Cosgrove discuss the famous photo that has come to be the face of AIDS. In the photo, a young man named David Kirby is seen at his deathbed surrounded by his parents. This photo came to signify the AIDS/HIV epidemic that was taking over the world. In the article, Cosgrove also describes the discrimination Kirby faced in his community through the words of Kirby’s mom:

                "My husband and I were hurt by the way David was treated in the hospital near our home                    where he spent time after coming back to Ohio," Kay Kirby said. "Even the person who                        handed out menus refused to let David hold one [for fear of infection]. She would read out                   the meals to him from the doorway. We told ourselves that we would help other people                        with AIDS avoid all that." (1)

David Kirby is a representation of the thousands of people who have to deal with discrimination in their society. The government can help these people by providing them with aid.

          

             Critics have stated that the government has provided enough funds on the issue of HIV/AIDS and should start focusing on other programs such as education. Since the strike of the epidemic the government has supported the HIV/AIDS group in research, care and prevention.  In 2010, President Barack Obama implemented a plan that would help thousands of patients. In the article, Obama Crafts first National strategy to fight HIV/AIDS, the author describes the kind of aid President Obama provided. Linda Feldmann states, “President Obama gave $26 million to the Centers Disease Control specifically to prevent the spread of HIV in the U.S. That same month, an additional $25 million was issued from the Department of Health AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which helps states offer patients free medications to treat the disease” (5). The U.S government has provided endless amount of money to help in the fight for a cure for HIV/AIDS. Despite the high amount of money being provided, it is still not enough because everyday the number of HIV death related cases continues to rise. Another issue with the lack of government support is shown in the number of states still waiting on the waitlist, so that they can be put in the HIV programs. This kind of disorder has caused thousands of HIV/AIDS patients to be left alone and not receive the treatments owed to them. 

           The issue of government support for HIV/AIDS will be a long progress, but there are solutions that can be taken by the government in order to ensure that people do not continue to suffer. First hand, the most essential step the government needs to take is to input more funds into the research, care and prevention of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In the journal article Twenty-Five years of HIV/AIDS, it states how providing funds will lead to new strategies that can ultimately stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. If the government provide more funds this can lead to “Partnerships, increased access to voluntary HIV testing, integrated prevention programs, and improved monitoring of new HIV infection” (CDC 587). Also in a video Stopping the epidemic:HIV prevention Today: provided by medscape.org, two medical doctors discuss how if the government puts up the money needed to stop HIV/AIDS, patients in the society can face a new treatment. Dr. Fierer states, “It is essential to create a nonjudgmental environment for patients”. The solutions provided can all aid in the help to stop HIV/AIDs, but none of them can be accomplished if the government does not take the first step of providing funds for the program. 

            

              All in all, it is no secret that HIV/AIDS has come to be the deadliest epidemic to hit mankind. Everyday around the world this disease take the lives of countless people. HIV/AIDS patients are sometimes outcasts in their community due to the lack of knowledge of other citizens or often times the patient’s families are left to deal with the financial problems. The government can aid in these issue by taking a steady approach of implementing more money on the cause. Although finding a cure will take a long time, the government should not delay the research, care or prevention of HIV/AIDS.  

                                                                                Works cited

• Cosgrove, Ben. "The Photo That Changed the Face of AIDS". TIME. Nov. 2014. TIME Web. 25 October 2017. 
• Feldman, Linda “Obama crafts first national strategy to fight HIV/AIDS.” The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 2010, www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2010/0713/Obama-crafts-first-national-strategy-to-fight-HIV-AIDS.
• Montoya, Silvana. “Effects of HIV: What happens to the body?” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316373.php.

• Watel, Patrick (Vespa Group) “Discrimination against HIV-Infected People and the Spread of HIV: Some Evidence from France.” May 2, 2007 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0000411
• Whitesides, Alan “Poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa.” Third World Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 2, 2002, pp. 313-332.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “Twenty Five Years HIV/AIDS-United States.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol .55, No. 21, 2006 pp. 585-589.
• “Fact sheet - Latest statistics on the status of the AIDS epidemic.” Fact sheet - Latest statistics on the status of the AIDS epidemic | UNAIDS, www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet.
• “Impact - Introduction.” HIV & AIDS Information :: Impact, www.aidsmap.com/Introduction/page/1444146/.
• staff, familydoctor.org editorial. “HIV and AIDS.” Familydoctor.org, 1 Feb. 2017, familydoctor.org/condition/hiv-and-aids/.
• “Why Some with HIV Still Can't Get Treatment.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/why-some-with-hiv-still-cant-get-treatment/.