Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome also known as HIV/AIDS. Sounds long right? It is longer than the time that people have been living with it every day of their lives. The sad thing is the ignorance of the ongoing issue that is a nightmare with no end for some. Africa is one of those countries in ignorance of the issue. Out of 19.6 million adults living with HIV in the region in 2018, 12 million are women and 7.6 million are men (AVERT). The people who need help and care but don’t have a government that isn’t bringing awareness to the issue but only silence over it. People dying because they are silenced over.
The ignorance of the politicians has also led to the ignorance of the people who do not want to include this issue in their everyday conversation on how to improve their own countries...the issue has remained taboo. No one speaks about it, no one confesses to being affected by it—neither those infected nor their relatives, neither religious leaders nor politicians (World Health). These people who are in a situation where for the rest of their lives will have to deal with the effects of HIV/AIDS but now also have to deal with it with no help or no awareness of their situation. Based on some ignorance to think that having it is a taboo, it makes them “different”, so they just hide in their silence. People not only ignore the issue but persist in being prejudiced and discriminatory to the people who have it.
Furthermore, into the issue, it has come to a point in the African society where it has become a taboo to have it already but to be a transgender or a gay man with it makes it turn to something against culture. The discrimination against them has been normalized to the point where Uganda and Nigeria have made laws that represses them from having the chances of testing lower which overall doesn’t solve the problem (Guardian). The ignorance of realizing the reality of the issue and what needs to be changed has only turned into discrimination against those who have it as an excuse to not face the problem that needs to be changed, by breaking the silence.
This ignorance in Africa only represents what many other regions in the world do to avoid the issue or face the reality of it. This leads to prejudgment as a way to not have to deal with the problem but as well as ignore it. When silence is put on a problem, that gives it no value for the need to be resolved. That is what Africa has done with this Epidemic of Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Ignorance has become the mother of prejudice and discrimination. That ignorance turns to silence that hovers over millions with the same issue, the only way to break it is to say “There is an issue to acknowledge.”
Work Cited:
AVERT. “HIV and AIDS in East and Southern Africa Regional Overview.” Avert, 31 Oct. 2019, www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-around-world/sub-saharan-africa/overview.
Evers, Marco. "Political Ignorance Contributes to the Spread of AIDS in Africa." Africa, edited by David Haugen and Susan Musser, Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010216403/OVIC?u=los42754&sid=OVIC&xid=15e6d8b5. Accessed 9 Mar. 2020. Originally published as "Epidemic of Ignorance: The Difficult Struggle Against AIDS in Africa," Spiegel Online, 8 June 20
Fowler, Norman. “HIV Remains a Global Health Problem, Thanks to Ignorance and Prejudice | Norman
Fowler.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 June 2014, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/08/hiv-aids-gay-healthcare-africa-russia.
Sovran, Steven. “Understanding Culture and HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.” SAHARA J : Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance, Taylor & Francis, Mar. 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3914501/
“Why the HIV Epidemic Is Not Over.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/hiv-aids/latest-news-and-events/why-the-hiv-epidemic-is-not-over.
My favorite part of your article was the last paragraph. I felt your conclusion was very powerful and suggestive of the work we need to do to end the stigma and ignorance around HIV/AIDS. My main take-away is that there are many suffering in Africa from HIV and AIDS, but they rarely receive help due to the cultural norms surrounding those affected by this disease. I wonder, are any governments or activist groups stepping forward and addressing some aspects of this issue?
ReplyDeleteIts interesting how you brought to light the stigma behind having HIV and how citizens will react to it. Africa and the entire world need to make sure that they are working to reduce this stigma so citizens are getting the proper care and treatment that they need. I wonder what leads more women to contract HIV than men.
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