AIDS is a dreaded disease because not only is it contagious but also because it is incurable. AIDS is caused by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) that multiplies inside the body and acts by weakening the immune system. The immune system is an important component of the human body for it produces antibodies that fight off any harmful microorganisms that might infect the body. But with the weakened immune system, the body can be easily infected with any fatal diseases. HIV can be transmitted in many ways.
It can be transmitted through sexual contact (heterosexual or homosexual), or an infected woman can also transmit the virus to her infant during pregnancy, delivery, or while breastfeeding or that a person can also become infected through transfusion of contaminated blood or by sharing needles used for injections and drug use. In considering Sub-Saharan countries, the main mode of transmission was through heterosexual contact (UNAIDS/WHO 2005). According to medical studies, 70% of AIDS victims lived in Sub-Saharan countries.
It is estimated that in that region 24. 5 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2005 and approximately 2. 7 million were newly infected with HIV during that year in (UNAIDS/WHO 2005). Needles to say, AIDS is the leading cause of death in these countries. Lack of awareness among the people of sub- Saharan countries is the main cause of the spread of the disease. Some simple precautions such as condom use, male circumcision, and change in sexual habits could result in dramatic improvements or decline in the spread of the disease in these countries.
This paper will discuss on the cause of ignorance or lack of awareness of the HIV in Sub-Saharan countries. It will discuss in detail how this lack of awareness had prevented people from using simple precautions such as condom use, male circumcision and proper sexual behavior in order not to get infected or spread HIV. It will also discuss how changes in these areas can result to dramatic improvements in the decline of the prevalence of AIDS victims in these countries. II. Lack of Awareness as the Main Cause Ignorance of a problem or any information that relates to it enables the problem to persists or propagate.
This is the case of the rapid spread of HIV in Sub-Saharan countries. Although it cannot be argued that the disease is contagious, the people’s lack of knowledge of HIV- its nature, prevention and mode of transmission- had been the effective vehicle used in the propagation of the disease which now results to millions of people suffering with HIV in those countries . It may be appalling to know that those who were responsible for the welfare and health needs of the people had neglected the dissemination of available relevant information when the diseases strike the country for the first time
According to studies the rapid process of transmission of HIV in Sub-Saharan countries was due to the fact that its government (except Uganda), especially its former colonial government, did not show any interest in curbing or addressing the problem in its earlier stage or while it still infect a few numbers of its citizens. The government had mistakenly considered the problem as irrelevant and perhaps isolated as compared to other pressing needs of the administration so that as a consequence they failed to institute effective policies and programmes at the time that it was critical that they do so.
In other words there was no social learning being promoted with regards to HIV or AIDS infection. Those programs could have informed the people of the nature of the diseases, its cause, prevention and transmission as well as the risk that the disease poses on their lives and communities. They could have further emphasized that the disease was at present incurable. Furthermore, as it is in their power, they could have established laws to increase community and self-protection against the dreaded AIDS. But as regrettable may be, the damage was already done.
And sad to say, efforts to educate the people seemed at a low a pace. This may be because due to the rapid spread of the disease in previous years (since the start of is infiltration in Sub-Saharan countries two decades ago), some of the teachers got infected with HIV resulting to a widespread of shortage of teachers (Paul 1). There was also the problem of lack of budget since basically Sub-Saharan countries are economically poor. In fact, according to various surveys, by the year 2000 most of sub-Saharan Africa still had little knowledge about HIV transmission routes.
Of the most that suffered with less information are the women especially those found living in rural areas. In similar manner, but in a lesser degree the women in urban towns or cities are also less informed. In fact, from various surveys conducted between 2000-2004, in 24 sub-Saharan countries (including Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda), two thirds or more of young women (aged 15–24 years) lacked comprehensive knowledge of the nature of AIDS and HIV transmission.
The men were more informed than the women; data collected from 35 of the 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa revealed that, on average, young men were 20% more likely to have correct knowledge of HIV than their female counterpart (UNAIDS/WHO 2005). This situation can be explained with the fact that the women In Sub-Saharan countries had low access to education. Male superiority, extreme poverty and household responsibility had driven most women out of school.