|
| Author: Roger Smith (Sept 2001) |
| Return to top of page | Created: |
Last uploaded on: |
| |||||||||
HIV/AIDS - what happened in 2000 and 2001?
Media reports on HIV/AIDS Issues
29th June 2000 - a UN Report from the UN Joint Program on HIV/AIDS (UN Aids) was released and predicted that the AIDS virus was likely to kill half of the 15 year-olds in the near future in Sub-Saharan African countries like Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. A UN official told the BBC that there was more than a 50% chance that you would die from AIDS if you were a citizen of these countries. Highlighting the consequences that the disease would have on
14th July 2000 - the World's 13th conference on AIDS in Durban, South Africa. The head of the UNAids appealed for $US3 billion to fight the pandemic in Africa where the infection rate reaches as high as one in three adults. The South African Health Minister explains that the expensive antiretroviral drugs that keep HIV sufferers alive for many years in western countries are out of reach of African governments and individuals - "there are thousands of bewildered and frightened children who are trying to be heads of households because the breadwinners have passed away because of AIDS" (Source: 'Appeal for $5bn as AIDS soars in Africa', The Australian, 15-16/07/00, page 7) July 2000 - it is revealed that stopping or slowing the virus, even in African countries, is not impossible. For example, Uganda, between 1990 and 2000 reduced its level of infection from 14% to 8%. It is also revealed that successful campaigns have been conducted in Brazil, India and Thailand. Three features of the Ugandan experience were highlighted 1. Talking about sex is taboo in many African countries, but in Uganda this was overcome. Prevention campaigns have worked because people have been educated in ways, notably through the use of condoms, to enjoy safe sex. 2. Testing pregnant women for HIV and providing them with drugs such as AZT or nevirapine if they are pregnant (these drugs prevent the transmission of the disease to unborn children) 3. Empowering and educating women so that they can say no to sex, particularly unprotected sex. This was difficult in Uganda which tends to have a patriarchal social structure like so many African countries. The Ugandan Government realized that women who are educated have a much better chance of saying no to unprotected sex than women who are not. 1st December 2000 - International AIDS Day - the head of the Australian overseas aid agency World Vision pointed out that the impact of AIDS has the potential to reverse years of hard-won development in the poorest countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. In emphasizing the magnitude of the daily loss of 8000 people from the disease it was compared with "the same number of people (who) would die if a fully laden jumbo jet crashed with no survivors every hour, on the hour, 24 hours a day, every day of the year" (Source: 'AIDS devastation gathering pace', The Australian, 1/12/00, page 9) 20th April 2001 - In Pretoria South Africa multinational drug companies dropped an important court case which was aimed at stopping the South African Government from producing, licensing and importing cheap versions of brand-name medicines to treat AIDS. The pharmaceutical companies had launched similar court cases in Brazil, India and Thailand which had also manufactured cheap copies of the antiretroviral AIDS drugs. 5th May 2001 - According to the UN the region around the city of Durban in South Africa had the highest level of HIV/AIDS infection in that country with 32% of adults estimated to be carrying the virus. The projected death rate in Durban, a city of 3.1 million, has led to the conclusion that the city government will have to find 241 hectares of land (one fifth of the area of the old city of Durban) to bury the dead over the next ten years. The struggle to find land for grave yards will be a difficult one as land is already scarce in such a large metropolitan area. 9th June 2001 - According to a report released by the UN, in advance of the special UN Summit on AIDS, 25 % of adults in five African countries - Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe - are infected with HIV. 26th June 2001 - The start of a special session on HIV/AIDS at the UN General Assembly in New York. According to the USA Secretary of State Colin Powell the statistics speak for themselves - of the 25 million people in Africa suffering from AIDS or carrying the virus that causes it, only about 10,000 are receiving treatment - worldwide some 40 million people could be infected by the year 2005. "No war on the face of the world is more destructive than the AIDS pandemic" (Source: 'AIDS threat too dangerous to ignore', The Australian, 27/06/01, page 12) 29th June 2001 - The end of a special session on HIV/AIDS at the UN General Assembly in New York - it is revealed that developing countries, including Australia, were reluctant to provide the funds that are needed for an effective campaign against AIDS. The USA pledged $US 200 million towards the UN requirements of $US 3,200 million in 2002. Australia pledged $200 million, over six years, from the aid budget, to fight the disease in our region. 30th June 2001 - It is revealed that the UN declaration on AIDS developed at the special session is not binding on countries. The UN asked that governments make commitments towards:
|
|
ActivitiesThe activities below are specifically designed to make use of the reports provided in "HIV/AIDS - what happened in 2000 and 2001 (21/9/2001)", but before attempting these activities students would benefit from reading "HIV/AIDS - an update for Hazards Issues (29/9/1999)" (Note: statistical tables, bar graphs, line graphs from UNAIDS, UN Population Division, World Bank and the World Health Organisation and "Links to information about HIV/AIDS" are provided in this ongoing issues section)
Activity 1Before attempting these activities think about the following: If you read the recent reports on HIV/ AIDS around the world and came across the phrase "the pandemic in Africa" what would you understand by this phrase? How would you go about clarifying your understanding of this phrase? Read through all of the reports and highlight in two different ways the following:
Clarify through discussion with your teacher, other members of the class or through additional research, your understanding of each of the words or phrases that you have highlighted.
Activity 2a) Using an atlas as a guide draw an outline map of Africa (See Heinemann Atlas Third Edition and Heinemann eAtlas pages 152-153 and 154-155) b) Locate, draw and name the following information on your map.
c) Include on your map the approximate latitude and longitude of Durban in South Africa. d) Add a brief note to your map that outlines why Durban was mentioned in the above reports. e) Use a world map from your atlas (see Heinemann Atlas Third Edition and Heinemann eAtlas pages 178-179) to measure the straight-line distance from the capital city of the state or territory in Australia in which you live, to the approximate location of Durban. On your outline map of Africa add this information to a direction line from your state or territory in Australia. f) Towards the margins of your map add the names of all the other non-African countries and cities that are mentioned in the above reports. Under each name add a brief note to your map that outlines why each of these countries or cities were mentioned in the above reports. g) Add a suitable title to your map.
Activity 3As a class discuss the following:
Activity 4From the above reports identify and compile a list of the elements that are discussed when considering whether a country (or a group of countries) is "developing", eg education, employment Assess the link between the information given in the above reports and the progress of "development" in many of the Sub-Saharan African countries.
Activity 5Read the quotation from the above newspaper article 'AIDS devastation gathering pace', The Australian, 1/12/00, page 9, which was published in December 2000. Evaluate this quotation. How would you rate its success in highlighting the global impact of HIV/AIDS? In the above reports, would you recommend this quotation before any other quotation? If so, why? If not, why not? |
|
|
| Author: Roger Smith (Sept 2001) |
| Return to top of page | Created: |
Last uploaded on: |