Hope for Our Futures
AIDS has taken the lives of many of my family members. My sixteen year old cousin inherited HIV at birth. Her mother, my aunt, died from AIDS when my cousin was only four years old. Her father also died from AIDS when she was ten years old. She was raised without parents. She is one of the billions of people who struggle and fight against this disease every day of their lives.
HIV stands for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, this virus eventually leads to AIDS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus. The infection of HIV occurs through exchanges of bodily fluids. This disease destroys the body’s immune system and makes it vulnerable to many infections and illnesses, like cancers, to thrive. Some of the most common symptoms of HIV/AIDS are: rapid weight loss, flu, respiratory problems, depression, herpes, genital warts and skin rashes, blurred vision, soaking night sweats, swollen lymph glands, and chronic diarrhea. There is no cure for HIV or AIDS.
Over thirty years ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered the first cases of AIDS in the United States. Since then, more than half a million Americans have died of AIDS and 1.1 million people are currently living with HIV in the United States (Baligh 1).
This graph in my blog shows that the majority of people living with HIV are in low and middle income countries by region. The largest population of infected people is in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is two-thirds of the world's population, or 68 percent. The second highest is in East, South and South-East Asia, this is 4.1 million people, or 12 percent. North America contains 1.5 million, or 4.5 percent. Eastern Europe and Central Asia, also Central and South America account for 1.4 million people of the world's population, or 4.5 percent. This epidemic is not only affecting the people in America, but the world as a whole.
The chances of spreading this disease have also slimmed down; less people are being infected. According to the article, “Sexually transmitted infections and infectiousness beliefs among people living with HIV/AIDS: implications for HIV treatment as prevention”, infectious beliefs play a critical role in HIV transmissions. The majority of individuals diagnosed with HIV avoid infecting other people with the disease. People are now making safer decisions and choosing to wear protection.
There have been different approaches to the disease treatment as well. “The Treatment Advocacy (TA) aims to educate people and provide counseling regarding HIV. The TA goes beyond traditional education and provides a safe place for clients to discuss diagnosis and other health issues in a more comprehensive way and better health care services”. (Mutchler 2) Through new programs such as these patients are able to talk and find solutions, and doctors get more insight, and a deeper understanding of issues affecting their clients because of the client-provider relationships formed. Clients can seek advice and gain skills from providers they can trust. These programs help individuals learn how to become better in control of their own care. Another program called Effective Antiretroviral Therapy has also taken the same turn in HIV treatment. “The use of effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) has led to major improvements in the health of HIV- infected populations” (Bansi 432). Treatments such as these have transformed the care of people with HIV.
The government has also become involved in the fight against AIDS. Authors MD Yehia Baligh and MD Frank say that in response to HIV/ AIDS epidemic the Obama administration has released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). The NHAS has three goals: reducing new infections, improving access to care and health outcomes, and reducing HIV- related disparities. The NHAS plans on reducing new HIV infections by 25 percent in the next five years. They plan on improving access to medical care through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA); these programs expand Medicaid coverage to include people younger than 65 and with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty level. The NHAS also plans on reducing HIV related difference dealing with race/ethnicity and sexual orientation for people with HIV. (MD, Baligh, Yehia. MD, Ian, Frank. (2011). “Battling AIDS in America: An Evaluation of the National Strategy”. American Journal of Public Health. Pages 1-10. DOI: 101: 4-8 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300259). The NHAS focuses on specific actions. The NHAS is a step forward in America’s battle against HIV/ AIDS.
People may disagree that the treatment for HIV is improving. However, the NHAS has set a goal to reduce new HIV infections by 25% in the next five years. According to the NHAS and ART, over the next ten years, HIV prevalence is expected to increase by 24% to 38%, mostly because the life extending effect of antiretroviral therapy. Scientist and doctors are gaining more knowledge, and there is no telling to what they can accomplish in the future. People are trying to do something about this deadly disease. More and more people across the world are receiving help and care. Lives are being saved.
Therefore, the treatment for HIV and AIDS has improved, and it will continue to improve as the years go by. Thirty years ago, America was not advanced as it is now. People have become more aware of this disease and are making better and more carful decisions to protect themselves and others around them. Doctors and therapist created programs that offer one-on-one sessions with patients and help them find individual diagnosis. The government and President Obama have also become concerned. They are working on specific actions to tackle the HIV/AIDS dilemma. As this country progresses into the future we will continue to advance and the treatment will continue to improve. There is still hope for victims with the virus. Due to our advances in technology, medicine and years of research, the treatment for this disease has improved and the chances of being infected have decreased. Victims now have a chance at survival. I believe one day we will find a cure, and there will be hope for our futures.
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