Aids Funding For Africa And Other Countries

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a serious problem besetting the whole world. However, there is no other region in the world that could equal the sheer number and severity of the AIDS problem in Africa. The situation of AIDS victims in the region makes Africa deserving of help from the more fortunate nations in the world that are not hit as badly as the Africans, such as the United States.

There are basically three reasons underlying Africa’s need for funding from other states. First, the number of AIDS victims in Africa is staggering. This reason alone is sufficient to arouse from people a compulsion to help. Basic notions of humanity and compassion dictate that those who are better situated and are able to help provide whatever assistance they can to those in need.

Second, the situation in Africa is getting worse, not only for those who are actually afflicted by the disease, but also for their children. There is a growing number of orphans in Africa who desperately need help because they lost their parents to AIDS.

Third, Africa is in no shape to solve this problem on its own. Almost all its countries are weighed down by the disease; and they have no resources to fund research on, and treatment of, the disease.

Main Body

The African Situation

Africa is the region most badly hit by the AIDS phenomenon. Compared to the number of victims in the United States, which only reached a little over 1 million in the year 2003 (A Glance, 2006), the number in Sub-Saharan Africa reached about 25 million at the end of 2005.

Worse, it is approximated that about 2.7 million more infections occurred during that year. The number of deaths in the region is also devastating, reaching a total of about 2 million in the same year. (Kanabus & Fredriksson-Bass, 2006).

The prevalence rates of HIV vary among the countries in Africa. Some are very much higher than others.  Among the countries that have the lowest prevalence rate are Somalia and Senegal, which is under 1% of the adult population.

Another country with relatively low prevalence rate is Nigeria, despite its being the country with the highest population in Sub-Saharan Africa, with only 3.9% in 2005. However, numbers are creeping up in the said country, as already “around 2.9 million Nigerians are estimated to be living with HIV.”

On the other side of the spectrum, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe registered the highest adult HIV prevalence rates, reaching 24.1%, 23.2%, 33.4% and 20.1%, repectively. (Kanabus & Fredriksson-Bass, 2006).

AIDS Orphans

Another grave problem facing Africa today is the number of children who are being orphaned because of AIDS. Although the whole world shares the weight of the 15 million children below 18 who have lost a parent to AIDS, Africa is again the region most badly hit by the situation.

Africa is home to more than 12 million of these orphaned children, and it is predicted that this number will reach approximately 15.7 million by the year 2010 in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.

The gravity of the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa, where “children who have been orphaned by AIDS comprise half or more of all orphans nationally,” is manifested in the mere number of children who have been orphaned in 2005. (AIDS Orphans).

South Africa has the most number of AIDS orphans, with 1,200,000 of them in 2005, while Malawi has the lowest population of orphans, with only 550,000. It would be noted that this smallest population of orphans of 550,000 is still a lot, and this in no way implies that the problem is less pressing in Malawi. (AIDS Orphans).

The biggest crisis involving AIDS orphans consist in the emotional impact of deaths of their parents on the children. Negative changes are sure to be experienced, such as emotional neglect and trauma, occurring long before they are actually orphaned.

For example, studies in Uganda show that high levels of psychological distress, manifested by feelings of anxiety, depression and anger, are common children who have been orphaned by AIDS. More fundamentally, the loss of a parent can lead to the subsequent loss of basic needs, such as food, shelter and education.

Foreign Funding

The situation in Africa can be improved through the support of other countries and world organizations, particularly in funding. Africa has no sufficient resources to support anti-AIDS campaign on its own. Money, infrastructures and human resources are needed to form an effective HIV prevention and treatment program in the region.

Unfortunately, these factors are not sufficiently developed in Africa. Therefore, foreign funding plays an important role in helping Africa combat its problem of AIDS. (Kanabus & Fredriksson-Bass, 2006).

Funding to low-income countries, such as Africa, is sourced from only four streams: donations from national governments, major multilateral funding organizations, the private sector and domestic spending. With the other streams being unavailable, donations from foreign governments remain the only viable source of resources for Africa.

The United States is one of the biggest providers of funds in the fight against AIIDS. The American initiative consists mainly of the PEPFAR, or the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief, which is a five-year commitment to donate $15 million to regions that are heavily beset by the AIDS epidemic. (Funding the Fight).

Conclusion

Africa is the country that is most hit by the AIDS epidemic. The devastating effects of the said disease have led to other problems such as the psychological trauma caused on children who have been orphaned because of AIDS, who are growing in number through the years.

With Africa lacking in much-needed resources, foreign funding from rich countries, such as the United States, remain its only hope in dealing with, and combating this deadly disease.

References

A Glance at the HIV/AIDS Epidemic. (2006). Retrieved December 1, 2006, from             http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/At-A-Glance.htm

AIDS Orphans. Retrieved December 1, 2006, from http://www.avert.org/aidsorphans.htm

Funding the Fight Against AIDS. Retrieved December 1, 2006, from       http://www.avert.org/aidsmoney.htm

Kanabus, A. & Fredriksson-Bass, J. (2006). HIV & AIDS in Africa. Pembrey, G. Ed. Retrieved             December 1, 2006, from http://www.avert.org/aafrica.htma