The AIDS crisis has become reality in South Africa long time ago.
Yet, nothing has changed: each day 2000 South Africans die from AIDS.
President Thabo Mbeki changes his opinion on a regular basis, stating
that HIV does not cause AIDS, or that it is a sickness associated with
poverty. Although the South African government is failing to utilise
all its resources to fight a disease which caused more than 300 000
deaths in South Africa last year, this is not a government issue only,
but an issue concerning the whole of the South African nation.
AIDS (Acqired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a disease, whereby a
person’s immune system is failing. This is caused by the Human
Immuno-deficency Virus (HIV) infecting a person through sex, birth, a
blood transfusion or the sharing of needles, razors or toothbrushes.
This virus will over time invade all of the infected person’s body,
destroying his ability to fight disease. The person carrying this virus
will then fall ill and die from a disease such as tuberculosis.
The fact that Thabo Mbeki states that HIV does not cause AIDS is
therefore false. Furthermore, world-wide, two percent more
professionals or skilled workers than poor people will get AIDS, due to
the fact that they believe HIV will not happen to them.
At the moment, the South African public is in an uproar. This is caused
by the failure of government to administer anti-retroviral drugs. The
South African government vehemently refuses to allow AZT
(azidothymidine) programmes or mother to child transmission (MTCT)
treatments, for HIV positive mothers and rape victims, to be
implemented. Neverapine, a drug which would cause children to be born
healthy from HIV positive mothers, was given to this country for free
by overseas pharmaceutical companies and still the government comes up
with excuses for not administering it. They are of the opinion that the
drugs need to undergo more tests. By the end of this year, the drug
should be made available. But by the end of this year, 50 000 more
babies will have died. Thus, some provinces have started to implement
treatment programmes, going against government policy.
The dilemma which government faces could be that by implementing, for
example Neverapine, the country will sit with a generation of orphans.
This in turn will cause another social dilemma. Namely, these children
will most probably end up on the streets and this could cause a higher
crime rate.
But all of this controversy still does not adress the root of the
problem: promiscuity. People having unprotected sex with many and
various partners, cause HIV/AIDS to thrive. A lot of awareness
programmes and campaigns have been implemented and the effects and
causes of HIV/AIDS are being taught at schools. People just do not seem
to adhere to slogans like: „Safe Sex Saves Lives“. They still believe
that AIDS only happens to others and not themselves. A prevailant
example to illustrate this ignorant attitude is where condoms are made
available and people are educated but still do not practice safer-sex,
thus endangering their own lives as well as potential sexual partners.
Especially in rural areas, men compare having protected sex with eating
a sweet with its wrapper still on. They then subsequently use these
given condoms as money bags.
Nevertheless, the fact that AIDS is alive and kicking, still remains.
In some areas the Death rate has increased to such an extent, that the
system of massgraves has had to be implemented. Every ninth South
African has AIDS and everyday fifty people get infected with HIV. More
education, public awareness and a cure are definitely needed.
Alexa Theron
(Pretoria, Südafrika)
http://www.eunity.org/article.php?id=90
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