HIV/AIDS In Sub-Saharan Africa

There are approximately 37 million people living with HIV in the world today. More than two-thirds of these people reside in sub-Saharan Africa (amfar, 2015). The country with the highest rate of HIV/AIDS is Swaziland, which will be the main area of focus. However, we plan to implement the program among surrounding regions as well. Although this disease now affects young women and children the most, the problem begins with older males who have contracted the disease. As the rate of disease increases, population rates continue to decrease, significantly impacting the economy as a whole. Although the disease is extremely common among sub-Saharan Africa, many people are still unaware of what HIV and AIDS actually is. The overall burden that HIV/AIDS has put on this area is unfathomable and it has now become “the most common cause of death in the region” …show more content…
This number contributed to about 66% of the world’s AIDS deaths that year (amfar, 2015). It is important to note exactly what HIV and AIDS actually is. HIV is an immunodeficiency virus, which when left untreated, can progress to the disease known as AIDS. It is crucial to catch HIV in the earliest stages in order to reduce the risk of it worsening to AIDS. This is a chronic, debilitating disease that often leads to death. HIV/AIDS is a communicable disease that is most commonly transmitted through sexual contact. However, additional ways the disease can spread includes: injection drug use, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, occupational exposure, blood transfusions, and organ transplants. The virus is transmitted through body fluids such as, blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. In order to transmit the disease, these fluids must come into contact with an individual’s mucous membrane, damaged tissue, or be directly injected into the blood