Jackie+L.+-+ASI+-+FA09

 **South Africa**
 * AIDS **


 * History**

AIDS was first diagnosed in South Africa in the mid 1980s but could have originated there long before that. Because of apartheid, people weren't paying much attention to the crisis in the first place. All of the political changes that were occurring within South Africa blinded people to how serious the problem really was. By the time it was put in the spotlight, there were anywhere from 74000-120000 people living with HIV in South Africa alone with more being infected each day. Nelson Mendela first responded to the issue by addressing the Networking AIDS Community of South Africa in 1992 but the problem still existed. The percentage of pregnant women living with AIDS jumped from .8% in 1990 to 4.3% in 1993 and is now over 30%. In 2004, a treatment program was instated that provided ARVs to people living with HIV. There is also medication that will prevent transferring the disease from a mother to her unborn child. The program has hit a snag because the current president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, doesn't believe that HIV causes AIDS and says that the drugs given to treat HIV is unsafe (HIV & AIDS in South Africa).


 * Political Impact**

AIDS hasn't made a huge impact in politics as much it has the other way around. The early cases of AIDS probably originated during apartheid in the 1970s or 80s and was able to go unnoticed because of the political changes that were taking place. After apartheid was abolished in the early 1990s, it was finally brought to light (HIV & AIDS in South Africa). Unfortunately, AIDS was already a serious problem among citizens. That's also why it is a serious problem in the continuous development of the country today. For some reason, Mbeki doesn't think that AIDS is a serious issue, therefore it isn't being countered to the fullest extent possible. Recently, the current health minister was scrutinized for promoting nutrition as a possible treatment instead of the medicine. The fact that the government is being ignorant or blind about the extent of the dangers of AIDS is the main reason it is still a problem within the country.


 * Economical Impact**

Ever since AIDS has been around in South Africa, the economy has been going downhill. Because of AIDS, there aren't as many people to do labor jobs. It also increases the amount of money the government has to spend in order to keep companies running which results in prices skyrocketing for goods within the country. In 2008, the government spent R78.6 billion ($10.6 billion) on health related issues within South Africa and that number is expected to increase 10% each year (Duncan). Since people don't have jobs because of the disease, they don't have enough money to buy the goods in the first place. Even though South Africa receives a lot of foreign aid, it still isn't enough to improve the economy. A South African based factory estimates that for every worker infected, it will cost the company $31000 for increased operation (World Economic Forum).


 * Social Impact**

The impact that AIDS has had on the citizens in the country has been tremendous. Around 11% of the total population of South Africa has been infected with HIV or AIDS. Most people who have AIDS can't get their hands on the medication in order to treat the disease so they can't even get a labor job. The ones who don't have HIV can't get an education because there are a shortage of teachers and they need to take care of family members who are infected. As of 2006, 21.6% of teachers in South Africa are living with HIV and there is still a shortage of educators within the country (HIV & AIDS in South Africa). They are also unwilling to teach children about AIDS prevention and safe sex because they think that the messages won't be enforced when the children are at home. As a result, about 3 million adults are uneducated and the infection rates of HIV will continue to increase (Fight against).


 * Botswana**


 * History**

For Botswana, AIDS prevention and screening has been a lot more proactive than it was for South Africa. The first case was discovered in 1985 and like in many places, was abundant among male homosexuals. Unlike South Africa, they were able to immediately start treating the disease. They started off with blood screening in 1987-97 in order to reduce the chances of contracting HIV through blood transfusions and quickly moved into educating the public about the disease. Then the government developed the Botswana National Policy on AIDS. Now, the response to AIDS has been expanded past just education to prevention and treatment as well. The treatment program that has been adopted is doing well. As of 2006, almost everyone that needs medicine within Botswana is receiving it (HIV & AIDS in South Africa). Still, Botswana needs to find a way of stopping the spread of HIV in order for the threat to really be over.


 * Political Impact**

The political impact of AIDS on Botswana is very minor considering the fact that the government is doing a very good job in treatment and prevention of the disease. The government set up a collaboration with the US in 1995 called BOTUSA not only to eliminate AIDS but tuberculosis as well. Since then, it has grown and even became a part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (HIV and AIDS in Botswana). Because of the foreign aid received, Botswana has one of the leading prevention/treatment programs in all of Africa so there hasn't been much political strain on the country so far. In the future, it may become more difficult to prevent the spread of the disease if the foreign aid is cut off.


 * Economic Impact**

The continuing spread of HIV in Botswana is doing what it would do to any other country in the world. Botswana's economy is going downhill because of the AIDS pandemic. For Botswana, it is decreasing the growth of the economy about 1.2% each year. In the long run, Botswana's economy would suffer a loss of 23% within 20 years. In 2006, 6% of government spending was HIV/AIDS related which includes patient care and the drug cocktails (Econsult). Like South Africa, there is a shortage of labor workers due to the disease and non-infected people can't take jobs due to caring for the infected. Because mining is one of the more prosperous industries within Botswana, the shortage is very bad on the economy. Despite the blow that AIDS puts on it, the economy of Botswana has been up lately which means that the country is on the path to a better future.


 * Social Impact**

About 24% of Botswana has HIV which is the second highest in Africa. The amount of HIV infected women there outnumber the men two to one. The people of Botswana are more educated about AIDS than South Africa because many different organizations decided to raise public awareness among them. The organizations have also taken it upon themselves to distribute condoms to the young people in order to promote safe sex. On the other hand, a few problems have arisen despite all the work that has been put in to the cause. Some people forget to take the medicine because the timing of the drugs is very confusing to the patients. There is also a shortage of doctors because they take jobs in other places with better pay and benefits. There was no choice but to hire people from different countries to fill the gaps which doesn't help because they don't speak the language ( HIV and AIDS in Botswana). This may pose a problem for the citizens of Botswana because they may not get accurate information from doctors and end up not being able to treat the disease properly.


 * Future**

Botswana is doing a good job of keeping the HIV pandemic under control within its own country but South Africa is having a hard time with it's programs. One way to improve this is just for Botswana to share its methods of success with South Africa and help guide them through the process. Because Botswana isn't the richest country in the world, it'll probably need some foreign aid in order to make this a reality. They can start the same way with screening blood transfusions and move onto education and myth debunking and treatment. This will probably take a few decades just like it did with Botswana, maybe longer because the government needs to agree with all of this first.

Another way is to have top leaders from the past or present who are living with HIV/AIDS or have family affected by HIV/AIDS speak to the countries about the dangers of the disease. For example, Nelson Mendela's son died of AIDS in 2005 so he could make a speech to the leaders of the countries about how his son lived with the disease (BBC News). Because he was the president of South Africa, it may make an even bigger impact than it would if it were some other leader. This could help the government realize the truth about AIDS and do something to prevent it from spreading like it is now. This plan wouldn't cost much money to put into effect but it may not have the highest percentage of success either. If the South African government doesn't accept what the people say or laugh about it, it may just fail. Although, if it does work out it will have a more immediate effect on the issue.

Even though the government of both countries get a lot of donations towards this cause, not all of it is going towards accomplishing the actual task. A lot of foreign aid money is spent of other things like helping the rich stay rich. If there was a way to make sure that the government was spending money in the way that they're supposed to, then there will be a great reduction in the seriousness of the disease. Somehow, if they are able to get the government to release a record of everything it does from spending to different propositions like the US does, it can clear things up. If the government refuses, it would be a sure sign that something's wrong and with the help of foreign powers, it can be solved.

__Works Cited__

"AIDS in South Africa: treatment, transmission and the government." __AIDS & HIV information from the AIDS charity AVERT__. 22 Sep. 2009 .

"BBC NEWS | Africa | Mandela's eldest son dies of Aids." __BBC NEWS | News Front Page__. 6 Jan. 2005. 23 Sep. 2009 .

Duncan, Felicity. "Major increases in government spending." __Major increases in government spending__. 28 Oct. 2008. 21 Sep. 2009 .


 * Econsult. //The Economic Impact of HIV/AIDS in Botswana//. N.p.: Econsult, Mar. 2007.

"Fight Against Illiteracy in South Africa ." __Continental Corperation -Fight Against Illiteracy in South Africa__. 21 Sep. 2009 .

"HIV & AIDS in South Africa." __AIDS & HIV information from the AIDS charity AVERT__. 22 Sep. 2009 .

"HIV and AIDS in Botswana." __AIDS & HIV information from the AIDS charity AVERT__. 23 Sep. 2009 .


 * World Economic Forum. //Global Health Initiative Private Sector Intervention Case Example//. Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2002.