In what has become the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic,
sub-Saharan Africa alone is home to more than 3 million
HIV/AIDS-related deaths during 2003 ““ twice the number of the
rest of the world combined.
Many students, political activists and celebrities have
collaborated in recent years to bring education and treatment to
this poverty-stricken part of the world. Several activities aimed
to raise awareness about the epidemic are planned worldwide today,
during World AIDS Day.
More than one in five pregnant women are infected with HIV/AIDS
in many South African countries as the epidemic continues to
tighten its hold on the region, according to a UNAIDS report
released Nov. 25. UNAIDS is a United Nations organization that
coordinates efforts to combat AIDS.
An estimated 26.6 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have HIV,
the report stated. Southern Africa, which houses 2 percent of the
world’s population, is home to 30 percent of people worldwide
suffering from the epidemic.
“This is an epidemic that at the start was a white,
middle-class gay man’s disease. Today, if you use a
stereotype, the face of AIDS is a young woman from Africa,”
said Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, in a conference
last week.
There is a direct correlation between poverty and disease, said
Salih Booker, executive director of the advocacy group Africa
Action.
Booker added that it is also ironic the spread of the AIDS is
occurring at a time when treatment is available but is inaccessible
to many poverty-stricken countries.
Africa Action, along with many other organizations, is lobbying
Western nations to grant more funding to the region.
In his State of the Union address in January, President George
Bush pledged to give $15 billion to Africa in the course of five
years. The Bush administration has yet to make good on its
promise.
Last month, Congress appropriated $2.4 billion towards AIDS
prevention and education efforts globally in 2004. No money was
directly earmarked for Africa, and none was allocated this
year.
“To put off funding for a year … (Bush) is not treating
(AIDS in Africa) as an emergency,” Booker said.
Booker said another problem is big drug companies concerned with
protecting their profits and their patents on treatments rather
than providing poorer nations with the medicine they need.
Some African countries have made progress in treating the
disease over the years. One example is Uganda, which has
experienced reduced HIV infections for 12 consecutive years.
With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.