South Africa has the largest number or people living with HIV/AIDS globally. The problem is such a huge one that health experts can’t actually put a finger as to what
South Africa is doing wrong or not doing. At the beginning of the epidemic there were two countries with a high prevalence, Uganda and the United States of America.That was close to twenty years ago. Overtime the rate in both countries declined dramatically. Dr Banda of the World Health Organization (WHO) says a combination of approaches or measures were implemented. In the case of
Uganda, an outstanding approach was the strong political commitment of the President. The Government took HIV/AIDS very seriously, cooperating with civil agencies. This is because some of the large providers of services are the Non governmental agencies (NGO’S), even up until now; an enabling environment is in place for the various partners to work. Also created was a platform were people could openly talk about the disease and its risk factors. On what South Africa is doing wrong, I can’t categorically say
South Africa is doing anything wrong because the epidemic came quite late to
South Africa. The country attained its democratic status in 1994, prior to that the prevalence level was low.
South Africa has tried to learn from
Uganda as well as from other success stories. So, even though they learn from one example they have a larger and a more complex situation to contend with. The rise in HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa is much deeper so a combination of the best efforts may not exactly produce the same result as recorded in
Uganda, because of the difference in socio economic context. It is hard to reach the rural communities with information. It has a significant affluent community with risk factors such as men having sex with men, injecting drug users. Freedom, immigration from neighboring countries and social economic dynamics all play a crucial role. South Africa recently adopted a policy known as the comprehensive plan to control the disease, prevent, treat and care for it. It included a lot of preventive strategies and support for affected communities like orphans. Last year it adopted a new Aid strategic plan which encompasses all these areas. The World Health Organization (WHO) is till trying to work on the actual estimate of South Africans living with the disease. Currently, newer methods of finding out figures are being applied. The probable cause of set back in the country is due to the many controversies on HIV/AIDS that has somehow slowed and diverted attention from the core issue on ground. The biggest challenge is the scale of the programme and the right capacity to ensure that it effectively covers the people with the need. Most people interpret this, to mean that the Government is not moving fast enough. The way forward is for World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN agencies to commit to the principle of Universal assess to preventive services. An impact can be felt if services are extended enough to cover most of the people affected.
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