Aids In Africa Essay, Research Paper
The Republic of France believes that the HIV/AIDS problem that our world is facing today is one that demands immediate action. The HIV/ AIDS situation in Africa is far greater and more widespread than that of the rest of the world. Over two-thirds of the 30.6 million people suffering with this disease live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Women and children in Africa are much more highly affected by HIV/ AIDS than anywhere else on the planet. Approximately 87% of the children living with HIV and AIDS in the world live in Africa. In addition to this, four out of five HIV positive women in the world live in Africa. Also, one out of three of the pregnant women in Africa are HIV positive. The main reason for these high statistics is because HIV is mainly spread though heterosexual relations instead of homosexual relations or drug use as in other parts of the world. This means that mothers pass the virus to their children in the womb, or through delivery, or breast-milk more than any other region of the globe. The countries within Africa are incapable of taking care of this astronomical problem by themselves. For the most part, these nations are still developing and do not have the necessary finances to accomplish what needs to be done. The more financially secure nations can aid the countries in need. These countries have the capabilities to research HIV/ AIDS and help with the burden of funding for countries in need.In the past, the UN has aided the African AIDS crisis though WHO. Much of the work accomplished has focused on prevention of spreading of the virus. WHO and their Global Program on AIDS started the Global Blood Safety Initiative. This program screens blood for AIDS. WHO has worked to train people to deal with the disease in rural and urban areas. Cooperations in Africa have provided AIDS-in-the-workplace programs to educate the people. However, these programs have been largely rejected by the African public, and have not been an efficient source of help to the African people.
AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa is a pressing issue that is in dire need of global aid. However, we as supporting nations cannot help people who don’t want to be helped. The African people must be willing to accept help, unlike in the past when they have failed to cooperate with organizations trying to offer assistance. The Republic of France is willing to aid this problem as much as possible. France plans to continue its participation in the UN and WHO. In addition to this, the AIDS research that France does will benefit all nations. The Republic of France has a long lasting commitment to aiding the countries of Africa. France is the largest contributor of aid to Africa, and is willing to help in any way possible in order to assist the African AIDS crisis. In order to effectively combat this issue, we need to attack it in several different ways. First of all, preventive measures need to be taken. This can be done though education the African public on preventive measures to avoid contracting HIV. These measures should include sex education, condom promotion, and maternal education on breast-feeding for women. In addition to educating the African public, the necessary materials need to be available to the African people. This means that condoms need to be distributed, and alternatives to breast-feeding need to be made available and affordable. Prevention is only one part of the problem though. The people living with HIV/AIDS need to have our attention as well. The African nations need to have AIDS medications available at an affordable cost. WHO has the influence needed to take action on the situation of AIDS in Africa. Through the UN and WHO, the countries of the globe must work together to stabilize the AIDS epidemic in Africa.