AIDS in Africa

            Since its discovery in the early 1980s, AIDS has affected many people in many areas throughout the world. Of those places, the ones hardest hit ones are found on the continent of Africa. It has become such a big epidemic that 5 out of 8 people who have it are living there. This widespread epidemic of AIDS due to cultural issues and lack of medical attentions has affected a variety of people even children; its effects are so devastating that it is on the list of the worst diseases in history. There are some things to look at with urgent matter spreading quicker and quicker.

            Some very startling percentages are seen with these effects. A rapidly increasing number of 80 million people have been infected since its discovery and of those people 40 million of them have lost their lives (Dark Days for the Dark Continent). The scary part is that the numbers have kept on growing. There are 8,000 people who die from it each day and 14,000 new ones are added onto the list of people who have it (Kiesbye). The numbers are even more shocking with a closer look at the areas where AIDS is most found. Of the 40 million people currently living with AIDS, 25 million of them are found on the continent of Africa (Dark Days for the Dark Continent).

            A major factor of these high numbers is due to cultural issues. With male dominance, lack of money, and also people with multiple sexual partners, these cultural issues play a big role in Africa’s epidemic (Crawley). One of them is the unfaithfulness of men because they tend to have multiple sexual partners” (Crawley). “Men are not expected to be faithful to their wives,” said Harvey Fredman, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Pennsylvania, as he described the unfaithfulness of men (Flam). Male migrant workers and truckers are also on the list of people with multiple sexual partners as they tend to have sex with many different women at different stops (Flam). One of the other cultural issues is male dominance. Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala who is head of anthropology at University of South Africa depicted it be saying, “African man who have become disempowered through history of colonialism, racism, and poor economic prospects are unwilling to give up the power they hold over women” (Crawley). These powers include women unable to refuse sex, insist the use of a condom, and that their husbands remain faithful (Flam). Another big obstacle is the lack of money. A man by the name of Michael Grun describes it as “survival sex” because women have to scrape out money selling their bodies due to them being financially dependent on men (Dark Days for the Dark Continent).