The Epidemic of HIV AIDS in Africa

People's lives are at risk! Africa is currently experiencing a major HIV/AIDS epidemic. HIV/AIDS is an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and a sexually transmitted disease. It can cause night sweats, fever, depression, fatigue, and loss of appetite. This horrendous disease is striking most of Africa. Many countries are in need of inspection, such as Tanzania, who has reached out and asked for help with multicultural. HIV/AIDS is creating chaos in Africa, specifically in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Kenya.Ethiopia had over 250,000 deaths in 1990 due to HIV/AIDS, making it the hardest hit country in Africa. "...a total of 28,000 deaths due to AIDS and an estimated 800,000 AIDS orphans annually."

When the children' parents die of HIV/AIDS the children have no other choice, but to be put into orphanages. The rapidly increasing number of orphans each year will continue to grow in Ethiopia because HIV/AIDS is still a major issue. HIV/AIDS is transferred through sexual contact between males and females. "HIV/AIDS is the major strain of virus in Ethiopia, transmission is largely through heterosexual contact and to a lesser extent to mother-to-child transmission." HIV/AIDS is likely to decrease the life expectancy of Ethiopians by 4.6 years because of all of the all of the babies being born with HIV/AIDS. It also causes an increase in the infant mortality rate because most babies are born dead due to HIV/AIDS from their mother. This outbreak in Ethiopia is going to cause the population to rapidly decrease.

Ethiopians are taking action in preventing HIV/AIDS by assisting others affected and infected. They are providing others with the materials and support they need. Not far behind Ethiopia is Nigeria with its HIV/AIDS epidemic. Nigeria is home to 3.2 million people infected with HIV/AIDS. Making it the second largest population with HIV/AIDS. Most Nigerians that are infected are unaware that they have HIV/AIDS. This is due to the lack of methods of testing HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. There are not many doctors or hospitals in Africa, so there is not enough treatment present in Nigeria, causing more HIV/AIDS deaths.  Sex workers and low condom use are two major contributors to Nigeria's epidemic. According to Nigeria's National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), sex workers, specifically women have had some behavioral changes. "In July 2015, it found female sex workers to be using condoms regularly and increasingly aware of HIV risk." The Nigerian women are taking action in protecting themselves from HIV/AIDS, which can aid in maintaining a healthy, long-living population. The use of condoms prevents transferring HIV/AIDS from person to person while performing sexual intercourse, thus contributing to a healthy population. With rare and expensive treatments, Nigerian families influenced by HIV/AIDS have to spend money very carefully, seeing that it is scarce due to medical expenses. "When large expenditures go towards treatment and funerals, caregiving responsibilities increase and income is lost as a result of premature mortality." This will affect child education and nutrition. This will also cause a change in focus for the adults in the family, instead of maintaining a career and income, their focal point will be directed to caring for theirfamilies. HIV/AIDS also increases the mortality rate in Nigeria, due to all of the young HIV/AIDS cases who have died.

Unlike Nigeria,      Kenya has been able to provide prevention for HIV/AIDS. Kenya is also a country in Africa that is highly affected by HIV/AIDS. However, they have had a decrease in new infections due to their prosperous HIV/AIDS prevention systems. Kenya's epidemic is being caused by the humiliation and discrimination Kenyans are afraid of if they choose to get tested for HIV/AIDS. By not knowing if they are infected or not, leaves the Kenyans that are infected at risk for death by HIV/AIDS. This will soon lead to huge death rates in Kenya. "Ferreira and Pessoa (2003) consider a continuous-time model with premature mortality due to HIV/AIDS where an individual's decision about schooling depends on her life expectancy."

Getting tested for HIV/AIDS is common sense, especially if they feel they show many of the symptoms. By not getting tested, they are putting themselves at risk as well as others. This is where the education or common sense role comes into play, as their decision to get tested depends on their life. The life expectancy in Kenya is most likely to decrease if Kenyans keep this poor mindset and fear being discriminated against getting tested for HIV/AIDS. Although there has been some success in preventing HIV/AIDS, this epidemic still resides as a problem in Africa. Affecting countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Kenya, HIV/AIDS has caused about half a million deaths in Africa. HIV/AIDS is caused by people engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse. Regardless of the steps taken to prevent HIV/AIDS it still remains a major issue. Steps such as programs to educate people about HIV/AIDS, treatment, and even condom supply have not been completely effective. HIV/AIDS affects the population, life expectancy, and mortality rate because there is no cure. HIV/AIDS will continue to plague Africa until people begin to follow the necessary precautionary steps.

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