More than 39 million people worldwide have HIV. In 2006, 4.3 million people became newly infected. Millions more struggle to care for sick friends and relatives, or to cope with a life without them. Many people affected by HIV and AIDS experience discrimination because of the stigma attached to the virus, or tell no one for fear of being treated unfairly.
In developing countries, economies are damaged as working adults and skilled professionals become ill and unable to work. Despite international response to the epidemic, the number of people with HIV is rising.
What are HIV and AIDS?
AIDS, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is an umbrella word for different illnesses and health problems. It is a fatal disease caused by HIV – the human immunodeficiency virus. HIV destroys the body’s ability to fight off infection and disease, which can ultimately lead to death.
HIV is passed on through bodily fluids, such as blood and semen, but not through everyday social contact, kissing, mosquito bites or from toilet seats.
People generally contract HIV through unprotected sex – female-male, male-female, male-male or female-female sex – or by using injecting equipment that is contaminated with HIV. So the best way to avoid HIV is to always use a condom when having sex and to use sterile needles or other injecting equipment.
HIV can of course be transmitted via blood transfusion if the blood hasn’t been screened. There is also a risk of it being passed from mother to baby during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding.
Can it be treated?
A blood test reveals if someone has HIV – known as being HIV positive. Any such test must be confidential, accompanied by counselling before and after the test, and the individual needs to consent to the test and understand what it is. These three principles are known as the “three Cs”.
HIV cannot be cured, but it can be treated with antiretroviral therapy. This slows down the replication of the HIV virus in the body so fewer viruses attack the immune system. Antiretroviral treatment strengthens the immune system, keeping out infections, which can stop people from becoming ill for many years and enhance their quality of life.
However, many HIV positive people live in developing countries where antiretroviral therapy is either not available, or too expensive to buy.
Who is most affected by HIV and AIDS?
Two thirds of people with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa. In Botswana, nearly a quarter of 15 to 49 year olds are infected with the virus. HIV infection is also spreading rapidly in south and south-east Asia, in the countries of the former Soviet Union and in the Caribbean.
Experts prefer not to talk about high-risk social groups, such as drug users. They argue that it is more helpful to talk about risky behaviour, such as using non-sterile needles. It is that behaviour that exposes people to HIV, not simply being a drug user.
Social factors – such as poverty, gender and human rights – can make people more likely to be exposed to HIV. Women and girls are especially vulnerable to HIV infection – partly because their biology makes infection easier, and because they may have less power to negotiate safer sex.
Young people tend to become sexually active aged 15-24, but often don’t have access to accurate information about how to protect themselves against HIV, nor to good healthcare services. This makes them more vulnerable to HIV infection and helps explain why young people under 25 make up more than half of the world’s new HIV infections.
What’s the situation in the UK?
In the UK, an estimated 63,500 people were living with HIV at the end of 2005. Most are aged between 15 and 39. Around a third do not know that they have the virus.
Until recently, the virus mainly spread through men having sex with men. However, most new HIV infections in the UK now happen through heterosexual sex between young people. The rise in sexually transmitted infections in the UK not only increases the risk of HIV but also demonstrates young people are increasingly at risk.
What effect are HIV and AIDS having in developing countries?
In many countries, especially countries in sub-Saharan Africa, families are being fragmented as adults become ill with AIDS and die. Women in Zimbabwe, where one in every three adults aged 15-49 is HIV positive, have a life expectancy of 30 years.
Whole communities are affected as teachers, nurses, farmers, government workers and leaders become unable to work. As the main wage earners and skilled workers die, economies suffer. By 2010, South Africa’s GDP is forecast to be reduced by 17 per cent as a result of HIV and AIDS. Already overstretched state budgets cannot cope with the growing demand on healthcare and social services.
Over 15 million children have lost one or both of their parents to AIDS. Many are left lacking adult support and protection, often running whole households, taking care of their siblings or caring for sick family members. These vulnerable children often live in poverty and are forced to drop out of school to do dangerous jobs, including sex work. Extended families may take on the financially-stretching task of caring for orphaned young relatives.
What can be done in response to the HIV epidemic?
By learning the facts about how HIV spreads and how to protect themselves against it, children and young people can find simple ways to be safer and healthy.
HIV and AIDS are surrounded by myths, fear and prejudice. Many people don’t want to be tested or to change their behaviour because they fear being rejected by their relatives and friends. Countering the stigmatising of HIV or AIDS is therefore another important way to prevent the virus from spreading.
HIV and AIDS is a complex, global disaster which is linked to poverty, the widening gap between rich and poor, gender inequality and a lack of respect for human rights. Governments must provide sound political leadership and the good quality treatment, training, care and support needed to respond to the epidemic.
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