Uganda has made tremendous improvements in terms of declining the number of people living with HIV/AIDS. This trend is traceable to the early 1990s when the government launched an initiative campaign aimed at eradicating the scourge. According to the survey conducted by UNICEF, the number of children up to the age of 15 years living with HIV/AIDs dropped to a record 1.1 million.
The report by the Ugandan Ministry of Health, to mother-child infection accounted for about 90% of children living with HIV/AIDS. The increase in the HIV/AIDS infection has been challenging in respect of the inability to track their demographics (Dube, Shoko and Hayes 98).
HIV/AIDS among educated children in Uganda
A survey conducted in Uganda suggests that sex education in Ugandan schools and through the media has prevailed in encouraging teenagers to engage in protected sex or have delayed the age at which they participate in premarital sex. Since the campaign initiative of the early 1990s, a USAID-sponsored scheme to encourage the use of condoms through community and school education has improved condom use from about 7% to a whopping 50% in the Ugandan rural areas while the urban areas have managed over 85%.
Increased use of condoms among teenagers aged between 13-19 years saw a reduced the rate of infection by about 60%. Additionally, sex education among children organized to salvage the children have recorded an increased number of children who have never engaged in early sex from 20% to about 65% between 1989 and 2005 (Dube, Shoko and Hayes 128).
Although it is arguable that the HIV/AIDS prevalence among children is heavily due to mother-child transmission, studies reveal that the prevalence among them has also been due to unprotected early sex. Generally, the reduced rate of children living with IADS has been mainly because of reduced prevalence among women aged between the ages of 15-24 years. Research suggests that there is a strict correlation between child education and HIV/AIDS prevalence (Dube, Shoko and Hayes 98).
In a study conducted in Uganda in the early 1990s, results indicated that young men and women who completed secondary education were seven times less likely to contract the disease than those with little or no education (UNFPA, 2011). Women studies confirm that post-primary education among the girl-child provides the greatest pay-off for their empowerment. Additionally, higher education offers more specific knowledge and life skills required to make informed decisions during their later age.
HIV/AIDS among non-educated children in Uganda
Researches conducted by numerous scholars have suggested that there exist a positive relationship between education and HIV prevalence among children. Studies show that in the absence of awareness about HIV/AIDS, individuals tend to have several sex partners, hence increasing their risk of infection. According to Simmons, Fawzi and Bundy (2008), an increased sex education through prevention messages remains a protective element against the infection of HIV/AIDS.
Increasingly, research demonstrates that increased educational campaign among children has been used as a tool in fighting against the pandemic. Reduced education enrollment among children in rural areas has increased the rate of HIV/AIDS infection among children in Uganda (Kalipeni 174). Studies suggest that people with low understanding of the effects of HIV/AIDS are risky compared to children with higher levels of education.
According to a study conducted by Jukes, Simmons, Fawzi and Bundy (2008) on Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS (JLICA) found that HIV/IADS specific education a positive contribution toward reduced prevalence among children in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
Although the educational efforts to reduce the HIV/AIDS infection has had a far-reaching impact on the reduced levels of prevalence among Ugandan children, declined campaigns in the rural Uganda accounts for the low improvements in HIV/AIDS prevalence among rural children. These results suggest that children who underwent through education stood a better chance of avoiding unprotected and early sex compared to those who had little or no education (Dube, Shoko and Hayes 98).
Gender studies conducted demonstrate that girls with less than 7 years of study exhibited a higher likelihood of getting married before the age of18, and early marriages have a statistical link to high risks of infection (UNFPA, 2011). Schools provide a mechanism of sourcing for information about the prevention of HIV. Recent studies and analysis by Global campaign for Education (GCE) indicate that if children attained a complete primary education, it can reduce the impact of HIV by about 700, 000 cases among young adults.
Works Cited
Dube, Lilian, Tabona Shoko, and Stephen Hayes. African Initiatives in Healing Ministry. University of South Africa: UNISA Press.
Jukes, Matthew, Stephanie Simmons, Mary Fawzi and Donald Bundy. “Educational access and HIV prevention: Making the case for education as a health priority in sub-Saharan Africa.” Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS. (2008): 1-33.
Kalipeni, Ezekiel. HIV and AIDS in Africa: beyond epidemiology. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2004. Print.
For this assignment, I am assuming the role of an organizational design consultant in a global consulting firm. Based on the list of the suggested organizations, I decided to focus on the development of an organizational design proposal for a non-profit government organization (NGO) that fights against HIV and AIDS. This topic is chosen due to the immense magnitude of the problem of the given disease spreading. Accordingly, to combat HIV and AIDS effectively, the NGO under discussion should implement an appropriate organizational design that would benefit the organization to the maximum extent. To develop a meaningful recommendation about the choice of a particular organizational design, it is essential to provide the background of the topic, referencing scholarly literature on the topic.
Background of the Problem
Before dwelling on the discussion of a specific organizational structure, it is essential to elaborate on the principal concepts that are included in this paper. Particularly, three areas of concern are of the primary interest: the design and functional characteristics of NGOs, the problem of HIV in the context of NGOs, and differences between organic and mechanistic organizational structures. By providing background information for each of the mentioned topics, the author will be able to develop a comprehensive and evidence-based recommendation. First of all, it is critical to understand and describe the principal characteristics of an NGO.
In general, NGOs became crucially important for society as they fulfill various humanistic objectives by promoting social, political, and economic projects for the improvement of currently existing problems. As it is described by Srinivas (2010, p. 116), NGOs “have gained prominence, nationally, globally, as staff-driven, professional actors in civil society”. “Relying on professional staff, involving volunteers, being formally registered, having taxfree status, and claiming applied expertise in social policy in terms of delivering social services or advocating solutions” are considered to be the main features of NGOs (Metin 2017, p. 194). Additionally, Metin (2017) mentions that several distinctive characteristics make NGOs different from governmental organizations in the public sector as well as in the private sector: “not seeking profit, having different sources of revenue from profit-seeking organizations, having different kinds of objectives, having multiple stakeholders, and working with volunteers” (p. 194). Thus, the importance of NGOs for societal projects is highly significant.
Further, it is critical to focus on the aspect of the NGOs’ activities in the field of combating AIDS as well as the problem of HIV in general. The study by Acharya et al. (2017), which focuses on the exploration of ways to improve the health care services delivery in rural Nepal, provides important insights both on the topic of HIV/AIDS and the role of NGOs in such projects. First of all, the paper exemplifies the fact that in the vast majority of contemporary third-world countries, the adherence to HIV/AIDS treatment is considerably limited.
Also, the authors mention that the stigma surrounding the disease under discussion is still negatively affecting numerous people who are diagnosed with HIV (Acharya et al. 2017). Accordingly, what is the role of NGOs in the solution of the given problem? Acharya et al. (2017, p. 3) state that “NGOs that demonstrate the capacity, track record, and commitment to working together towards national health goals can and have successfully partnered with the public sector”. In general, it is mentioned throughout the paper that the partnership with NGOs can significantly increase the efficiency of anti-HIV programs. Additionally, the study by Banks, Hulme, and Edwards (2015) should be mentioned. In this article, the authors state that NGOs have a vast impact on the availability of donor-driven support for anti-HIV programs.
The third aspect under consideration that needs a proper background is the differences between organic and mechanistic organizational designs. According to the study by Chang (2017), it is largely recognized in the academic literature on the topic of business and management that the external environment has a vast impact on the internal structure of the organization. Thus, in the middle of the 20th century, a theory was proposed. This theory suggests that there are two types of organizational structure, mechanistic and organic. The mechanistic organizational design is characterized by the strong focus on “establishing clear rules and hierarchy to manage all workers in a firm” (Chang 2017, p. 52). On the contrary, the organic organizational structure could be described as the system based on “communication and cooperation to manage interactions between individuals” as an organization operates in a very dynamic environment (Chang 2017, p. 52). Unlike the mechanistic organizational design, which is suitable only for stable situations, the organic organizational design is capable of meeting various challenges in a timely and efficient manner.
Recommendation for the Implementation of a Particular Organizational Design
Based on the information provided in the previous section as well as additional references to the scholarly literature on the topic, it is possible to develop a meaningful conclusion about the choice of an organizational design for the NGO that is consulted by the firm in the proposed scenario. As it is evident from the previously developed discussion, the implementation of anti-HIV programs is a complex and challenging task, in which numerous determining factors are involved (Acharya et al. 2017). Accordingly, it is appropriate to state that organizations that have a purpose of fighting the negative impact of HIV and AIDS are operating in dynamic environments. Therefore, the organic organizational design is the most suitable structure for an NGO that aims at implementing an anti-HIV program.
Moreover, it is also essential to provide scholarly support for the developed claim. In the study by Mettin (2017), the author conducted an analysis of different variables in terms of their impact on the sustainability and efficiency of NGOs. Based on the information gathered from 139 participants, the author conducted linear regression analysis. As the result, it is concluded that “having an organic structure” has “effects on the likelihood of the sustainability of the non-governmental organizations” (Metin 2017, p. 197). Also, the author mentions that the overall increase in sustainability as the effect of the implementation of the organic organizational structure is evident. The study by Mehmood, Sonia, and Umar (2016) does not find positive connections between the organic structure and organizational learning and innovation. However, these findings, according to the authors, are largely determined by the Pakistani context of the study.
Conclusion
Overall, this paper represents an extensive analysis on the topic of non-profit government organizations within the context of the anti-HIV/AIDS programs. Based on literature research on the topic, the paper develops several important arguments related to the primary subject matter of the essay. It should be stated that operating in a dynamic environment requires a flexible organizational structure. As the result of the conducted analysis, it is recommended that an NGO should implement the organic organizational design since it better meets the demands and challenges which are within the scope of such organizations.
Reference List
Acharya, B, Maru, D, Schwarz, R, Citrin, D, Tenpa, J, Hirachan, S, Basnet, M, Thapa, P, Swar, S, Halliday, S & Kohrt, B 2017, ‘Partnerships in mental healthcare service delivery in low-resource settings: developing an innovative network in rural Nepal’, Globalization and Health, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 2-9.
Banks, N, Hulme, D & Edwards, M 2015, ‘NGOs, states, and donors revisited: still too close for comfort?’, World Development, vol. 66, pp. 707-718.
Chang, HH 2017, ‘A literature review and analysis of the incident command system’, International Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 50-67.
Mehmood, KK, Sonia, F & Umar, A 2016, ‘Impact of organic structure on competitive performance of pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan: study of mediating roles’, Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences (PJSS), vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 821-834.
Metin, H 2017, ‘The effect of organizational structure and NGO-NGO relationships on sustainability in NGOs’, European Journal of Economics and Business Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 194-198.
Srinivas, N 2010, ‘The phenomenon of NGOs: a lateral reading from Latin America’, Critical Perspectives on International Business, vol. 6, no. 2/3, pp. 116-127.
The film How to Survive a Plague by a journalist David France explores the history of the AIDS epidemic in New York City. The movie follows the lives of AIDS activists and HIV positive people. The film also shows how the government treated these people and the epidemic. Act Up activists are the main focus of this movie as it shows their fight for HIV positive people. The epidemic was ignored for many years, and the medicine for infected people was not safe for them. This paper aims to outline how different groups treated the AIDS epidemic and find different strategies that Act Up activists used to reach their goals.
The Crisis
People viewed the AIDS epidemic differently. Some groups, including many individuals that worked in government, saw infected people as individuals that we’re guilty of a crime. They thought that people with AIDS were the ones that spread the disease and that they did not deserve to get treatment. The government proposed to use a drug, called AZT, which was dangerous for many people due to being toxic and even causing blindness (France). At that time, that drug was the only way of treating HIV infection. Moreover, the police treated activists and their doings as acts of violent behavior. Protests were stopped, and activists were arrested.
The media started to give coverage to this problem when the activists decided to demand the government to develop new drugs or to change the process of AIDS drug approval. The journalists focused on filming riots and talking to activists. Several programs talked about the possibility of creating new medicines. As can be seen in the movie, various news stations asked activists to participate in their programs as guests. However, during these shows, the activists were asked about celibacy thinking that gays and lesbians did not need to have sex. In their minds as in the minds of many people, the problem could be solved if gay people just stopped having relationships. Thus, they did not view the epidemic as a real one.
After the number of victims grew, the journalists started to talk about the problem of HIV more often. The programs, however, tried to show many sides of the conflict, often using religious claims. For example, they reported that the Catholic church continued to push against the use of condoms and talked about people dying mentally and not physically. It is safe to assume that religious groups did not want the infected people to participate in the activities of the church. The movie shows conflicts between Act Up activists and church officials. Various religious activists acted aggressively and violently against HIV positive people and their supporters.
Activism
The Act Up activists devised multiple strategies to bring people’s attention to the AIDS crisis. First of all, they asked for a new treatment to be created. The treatment that existed then was dangerous and expensive. The activists urged to find new ways of treating infected people. These people mostly tried to reach the government and researchers with peaceful and not peaceful protests. It is possible that the activist’s main focus was to spread the information and let more people know about the epidemic. According to Wright, the AIDs activists tried to battle the stigma that was placed on them by society (1788). Their actions often involved projects that were aimed at educating other people about their problems. They went on the TV to talk about the victims and the lack of treatment. As a result, new therapies started to appear in the country. The activists tried to interfere with political and religious gatherings, created slogans and banners and gathered around government buildings and quarters of pharmaceutical companies.
The main advantage of the Act Up activists’ strategy is its ability to attract attention. Their open activism made journalists and newscasters talk about the epidemic and show its victims. Act Up’s efforts also reached various researchers and medical professionals, who later joined the group to spread scientific data and explain different concepts to people. Later, the activists changed their strategy and chose to use the media in other ways. For example, they started to publish reports and hold conferences to reach the public. This approach was less aggressive and more scientifically driven. However, the scope of these gatherings and papers might have been less effective.
On the other hand, Act Up’s activity also had some negative effects. Activists’ riots were met with aggression from religious groups, who started to oppose gay and lesbian relationships more violently. Some expert claim-makers tried to argue with AIDS activists as well.
Moreover, these strategies had many limitations. They could not reach the majority of people because of the activists’ sexual orientation. It was hard for them to appeal to the general public. Moreover, the riots could be regarded as less effective than civil debates by some politicians that tried to portray Act Up as criminals. However, the approaches of activists included many aspects. Chan states that the strategy of Act Up is now called “inside-outside” for its complex structure (211). The political activity of some supporters and HIV positive people reached many people and brought the necessary attention to the problem.
Works Cited
Chan, Jennifer. Politics in the Corridor of Dying: AIDS activism and global health governance. JHU Press, 2015.
France, David, director. How to Survive a Plague. Public Square Films, 2012.
Wright, Joe. “Only Your Calamity: The Beginnings of Activism by and for People with AIDS.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 103, no. 10, 2013, pp. 1788-1798.
The importance of sociology in the fight against AIDS has been mentioned several times by prominent researchers. Macionis and Plummer wrote: “The social implications of AIDS are so many that it becomes almost a test case for the relevance of sociology to health” (2008).
Macionis and Plummer are correct in the sense that AIDS is a disease which infection rate is strongly correlated to interpersonal relationships, such as sexual intercourse, blood transfusion and intravenous drug use. Furthermore, in the beginning of its evolution, the disease was associated with homosexuals.
Therefore, there is a need to incorporate insights regarding interpersonal relationships when it comes to the design of prevention programs. AIDS is a perfect example of the close link between health and sociology.
Impact on Mankind
The importance of sociology in the study of AIDS is based on its unique attributes. There are many deadly forms of diseases that claim many lives. For instance, medical conditions like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease claim hundreds of thousands of lives.
But AIDS/HIV is the only highly communicable disease that has no known cure and, at the same time, can infect a person without developing any type of symptoms. This characteristic is the primary reason why AIDS has reached crisis proportions in many parts of the globe.
Consider, for instance, social impact of the infected person engaging in sexual relations with wife and other people. The virus is passed on from one person to the next without their knowledge. A prostitute can unknowingly pass the disease to her clients before the virus ends her life.
The infected wife continues to bear children infected with the virus without the family’s knowledge of impending doom. There is, therefore, the need to access sophisticated medical intervention processes in order to detect HIV/AIDS. But in poor countries the lack of technology is just half of the problem. People are even unaware of what AIDS means.
The inability to combat AIDS at the early stage is a sociological problem because the lack of education and the lack of medical facilities enhance the power of the disease. Paul Farmer in his book Infections and Inequalities: the Modern Plagues lamented the fact that people die not because there is no means to fight the disease, but simply because they have no access to decent healthcare.
However, mankind must not succumb to despair. It would be best to follow the suggested course of action of a man who saw the collision of sociology and medical science and he said: “One learns, I would hope to discover what is right, what needs to be righted – through work, through action” (Farmer, 1999, p. 18).
The first step is to acknowledge that medical science must work in tandem with the social science to develop strategies to combat HIV/AIDS.
Highly Communicable Disease
The ability to stop the spread of the HIV virus should not be ignored by medical professionals. It is understandable that it is their primary duty to unlock the mystery of the AIDS virus; nevertheless, it is the job of social workers and social scientists to help people understand the disease on their own terms and through a language that they can comprehend.
For example, if the prevention strategy centres on abstaining from casual sex, than the social workers must be able to explain the logic behind the infection period. In other diseases, the infection period usually lasts for a short time, or a few months for some highly contagious diseases (Middleberg, 2003).
But in the case of HIV, the infectious period can last from 8 to 12 years (Middleberg, 2003). They have to understand the implication that HIV carriers can infect others during this time period without a clue that they have the virus.
The Stigma surrounding AIDS
Aside from the need to explain the unique attributes of the AIDS virus, sociology also plays a major role when it comes to coping with the disease. It has to be reiterated that the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS is rooted in its mode of transmission from one infected person to another human being.
It may be a contagious disease, but a person sitting next to an HIV carrier does not get infected. Furthermore, scientists were able to determine that the virus cannot survive in the open air or in the water – it is not an airborne or a waterborne disease (Piot & Bartos, 2002).
It has been discovered that the virus is “primarily transmitted by blood and by direct contact of genital or rectal mucosa with infected semen or vaginal secretions” (Piot & Bartos, 2002, p.10).
There are other means of transmission but through the help of mainstream media what gets the attention of people are the two modes of transmissions: a) sexual intercourse and b) intravenous drug use.
This view is exacerbated by assertions made by researchers who asserted that HIV infection cases owing to blood and perinatal transmission are diminishing in the United States and, therefore, it sexual transmission that is the main reason behind the surge in infections (Piot & Bartos, 2002). This is one of the reasons why there is stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.
Principles, gleaned from the study of sociology, must be used to deal with the shame felt by HIV carriers, especially if they are homosexuals. The plight of gay people is made more difficult by recent studies claiming that “transmission probabilities for heterosexual couples to be between.0001 and.0020 per episode of sexual intercourse” (Piot & Bartos, 2002, p.10).
The implication is that there is a low risk of infection when it comes to heterosexual sexual activity. There is also a link between HIV infection and lesions due to other forms of sexually transmitted diseases.
But even before all that, the world came to know about the disease through the high rate of infections among members of the gay community many years ago (Dowsett, 2003). This information endures through the decades and makes it difficult to forget; therefore, for many people AIDS/HIV is associated with homosexuality (Dowsett, 2003).
Social scientists must help develop intervention strategies and disseminate information to help deal with misconceptions regarding HIV/AIDS. The stigma associated with the disease can prevent HIV carriers from seeking medical assistance.
If the community finds out that a person is infected with HIV, the first thing that comes to mind is the question whether the person is homosexual or not (Robinson, 2008). If the HIV positive person is male, than it is impossible to stop people from thinking about his sexual orientation and whether he had engaged in homosexual intercourse in the recent years, or if he led a promiscuous lifestyle.
Gay men are not the only group that requires help when it comes to dealing with the social impact of the disease. Heterosexuals are not immune to the stigma that follows HIV/AIDS. In their case, the challenge is on how to dissociate HIV/AIDS from the idea of multiple sex partners or prostitution.
They would be branded as promiscuous. If they can prove that they are faithful to their partners, the next thing that can be used against them is the accusation that they are drug users. The same effect can be expected, they would not seek help due to the stigma associated with the disease.
A Social Problem
In the third world countries, the sociological aspect of HIV/AIDS is much more complicated. Whereas in the Western world the issues are limited to social stigma, HIV carriers in poor countries like in Africa, have to deal with several problems associated with HIV/AIDS. The lack of information regarding the disease and the lack of access to decent healthcare has resulted in an AIDS epidemic (Gausset, 2001).
The impact of the disease has reached levels unknown in industrialised countries, for example, infants born in seven African nations – those with very high HIV infection – could not expect to live beyond 40 (Dugger, 2004, p.1).
Due to the shocking facts, some of Africa’s politicians are saying that the numbers may be inaccurate (Dugger, 2004, p.1). Nevertheless, the implication is unthinkable; the disease can wipe out communities as if ravaged by war.
Consider the repercussions, the deaths of thousands of young men and women meant that there were only a few people that can contribute to the field of education, healthcare and various industries. If these African nations cannot develop an appropriate and effective prevention strategy, than it is possible that the whole continent will simply implode. Sociology is an important component of the fight against AIDS.
Policymakers must come to understand the need to involve the community in the design and implementation of prevention programs (Bagasao, 1998). The lack of understanding regarding the importance of sociology can lead to costly mistakes.
There is a need to understand people in order to assure that prevention programs are going to work. There are many misconceptions in the minds of the people that needed help.
For example, in one study the researchers discovered that there was a time when African Americans had a very negative view about contraceptives and believed that there was some sort of conspiracy concocted to harm them and that the government used contraceptives as the tool for their destruction (Bird & Bogart, 2005). This is the reason why sociology must be utilised correctly in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Conclusion
The fight against HIV/AIDS must not be limited in the field of science. The fight must also occur in the social sphere. The need to study human behaviour is of a great importance, especially when dealing with a medical problem that invites ridicule and shame to infected carriers.
It is important to note that the same phenomenon cannot be expected from those suffering from terminal sicknesses like cancer, but social stigma is common in AIDS patients.
The medical professionals know how to treat the patients but the failure to deal with the social issues prevents the use of medical science to mitigate the impact of the disease. Thus, sociological principles must be utilised correctly to deal with the social impact of HIV/AIDS, as well as in the development of effective intervention strategies.
Reference List
Bagasao, M. 1998, ‘Moving forward through community response: lessons learned from HIV prevention in Asia and the Pacific’, Health and Human Rights, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 9-18.
Bird, S. & Bogart, L. 2005, ‘Conspiracy beliefs about HIV/AIDS and birth control among African Americans: implications for the prevention of HIV, other STDs and unintended pregnancy’, Journal of Social Issues, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 109-126.
Dowsett, G. 2003, ‘HIV/AIDS and homophobia: subtle hatreds, severe consequences and the question of origins’, Culture, Health and Sexuality, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 121-136.
AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is a movement advocating for the improvement of the lives of people with HIV/AIDS and calling for legislation, research, and treatment to eliminate the disease. ACT UP was created in March 1987 in New York at the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center (“How to Survive a Plague”). The movement was active and organized many demonstrations advocating for effective AIDS policies against the epidemic from 1987 to the mid-1990s.
The main strategy of ACT UP was direct-action protests which reached their peak in 1988, when the activists managed to close Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for one day on October 11 by preventing the workers and officials from entering the building. Their purpose was to make medical establishments and the U.S. government develop effective medications against HIV/AIDS.
They demanded from FDA to develop and approve medications that could delay or even stop the development of the virus and to make drug trials shorter than the usual seven to ten years so that the treatment could be available in a short period to save more people from this deadly disease (“How to Survive a Plague”). Many people with HIV/AIDS were forced to buy unreliable and unapproved drugs on the black market to have the smallest chance of survival.
The only drug that could decelerate the progression of AIDS at that time was AZT. However, this drug was toxic for people and, therefore, caused severe side effects such as complete blindness. The cost of this was also very high, namely, $10,000 a year.
Finally, ACT UP managed to influence FDA, and on the International AIDS Conference in 1991, a new drug called DDI was approved being a better alternative for AZT and not causing pernicious side effects. Although by that time DDI had not gone through all necessary trials, the results were positive, and the drug was more effective than AZT (Westervelt). Another ACT UP’s campaign was aimed at protesting against the immigration policies that discriminated HIV positive people and prevented them from entering the USA.
Later, the ACT UP and the Treatment Action Group (TAG) demanded that the government conducted more research, as neither AZT nor DDI were effective in terms of the treatment of HIV/AIDS. As a result, in 1996, the FDA released protease inhibitors, which could significantly decrease the reproduction of the virus, thereby prolonging the lives of patients with HIV/AIDS even more (Westervelt). At that time, it was a breakthrough, and these medications are widely used against the virus now, but in a more modified form.
In terms of the advantages of ACT UP strategies, there were many of them, as if not for the activists, many more people could have died from AIDS at that time. They managed to accelerate the process of developing and approving medications against HIV/AIDS. They also emphasized on the homophobic and discriminatory behavior of the government towards HIV positive people (“How to Survive a Plague”). The main disadvantage of their strategy was that they wanted untested medications, which was a risk because if these medications turned out to be harmful or deadly, more people could have died from them but not from the disease.
This was the main difference between activists and expert claim makers. The experts’ opinion was also to find a cure for HIV/AIDS as soon as possible, but they were reluctant to release untested drugs (Westervelt). Understandably, the activists wanted to take a risk, and they had no choice, as most of them were infected with AIDS, whereas the experts could not allow themselves to be responsible for people’s sudden deaths in case the drugs turned out to be dangerous. Regarding the media, it viewed the AIDS crisis as a big threat and increased public awareness of its consequences.
Works Cited
How to Survive a Plague. Directed by David France, performances by Peter Staley, Larry Kramer, and Iris Long, Public Square Films, 2012.
In order to understand the HIV epidemic in Enrique’s native country, it critical to carry out intrinsic background research, establishing current dynamics, and designing the right remedy policy. Thus, this reflective treatise attempts to explicitly explore on the HIV epidemic on children in Enrique’s native country in prescribing relevant remedial polices for the government.
Besides, the paper offers researched based policies and relevant recommendations to reverse the series HIV epidemic threatening to permanently distract the growth and development of children.
In addition, this treatise tackles one of the initiatives that can be undertaken so as to bring change to the way of life of the children in this country. It will focus on HIV epidemic response and restoration policies aimed at protecting the affected children in Enrique’s native country.
HIV Epidemic in Enrique’s Native Country
Child development depends on several factors. These factors include love, caring, provision of basic needs, and security. Reflectively, HIV infection on a parent or guardian is likely to put children at a glaring risk of total behavioral, emotional, mental, and social development of child physical and psychological aspects of growth when the parent demises.
Enrique asserts, “You think that filling our bellies is the same thing as love,” (Sonia 2007, p. 89). More often, these children are exposed to physical violence and they lack protection from their parents which expose then to trauma.
In the book ‘Enrique’s Journey’ by Sonia, children are affected HIV infection at tender age are likely to become victims of sexual abuse and may be obliged to coping strategies such as fear, lack of confidence, and trauma that have negative effects on their growth as they lack the basic protection associated with parent care (Sonia, 2007).
Moreover, most of these children are vulnerable to depression, eating disorders, and even unending anxiety that is associated with “advanced opposition defiant disorder (ODD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)” (Fielding & Briss, 2006, p.977) which is associated with poor physical and psychological development of children.
A challenging task in community development is to make a community a better place to live and grow. Sonia asserts, “In the still air, the room turns hot, nearly suffocating; perspiration trickles down the migrants’ faces and soaks their shirts… spoons of stew touch lips before bottoms hit the seats”(Sonia 2007, p. 57).
Various community initiatives can be undertaken to make this society a better place to live for the children who are losing their parents to HIV related deaths. For instance, it can target an age group, household, area, and income among others. Children face a number of problems in this society as a result of HIV epidemic.
These problems are widespread ranging from drugs abuse, sex, alcoholism, theft, among others due to lack of emotional, financial, and psychological support. These children need to be help out of the problems arising from HIV related deaths pressure. This is because out of all the children impacted by death pressure, there are some who care about their well being like Enrique.
Therefore, they need assistance to get out of the poverty trap. This policy initiative aims to provide children in this country with a secure economic, social and environment. In addition, it helps them receive life guidance, financial assistance, realistic information, instructive tutoring, as well as participate in esteem building activities.
HIV response Policy
The mission of the policy initiatives is to enable children affected by HIV epidemic to improve their health, education, economic strength, and social vitality in the community. The policy initiative’s vision is healthy, vibrant, and sustainable community that offers meaningful opportunities for growth and success of these children affected by HIV related deaths (Fielding & Briss, 2006).
The initiative will be carried out within the entire Enrique’s native country. The state has a total population of 880,253 orphan children as a result of HIV related deaths. In this population, the estimated number of female children is 450, 889 while the male children are 42,364. Fielding and Briss (2006) defines development assets framework as “40 common sense, positive experiences and qualitative that help influences choices young people make and help them become caring, responsible, successful adults,” (Fielding & Briss, 2006, p. 974).
This framework has proven to be a successful tool for developing the children agenda in various countries. Some of the specific development assets are discussed below.
Children Empowerment
Empowerment entails increasing the aptitude of children in the community. This process helps them transform choices in to favorable outcomes. Community views children as vital resource for development.
In most instances, the communities grants children important roles in the society and empower them to execute those roles. Empowerment is an important tool for community development because it ensures utilization of idle human resources.
Commitment to Education
Learning is a key pillar for community development. Children should be actively engaged in learning and be motivated to do well in school. Children should be encouraged to go to school through offering sponsorship to the affected. Besides, their school reports need to be closely monitored by necessary agencies.
Bonding at school should be encouraged to motivate these children to attend school. Learning is an important tool because it educates the youth and prepares them to take up roles in the community (Fielding & Briss, 2006).
Community health Program
There are several community health programs that the government can offer this community to avert the HIV related deaths that make children orphans at a very tender age. The government should encourage the community to be conscious of their health, birth control, healthy eating and living habits, and adaptation of preventive health policies.
The can also offer major health services such as affordable hospital and clinical treatment, free TB and HIV centers, free post illness recovery support, and mobile clinics (Fielding & Briss, 2006). Most of the clinics within this community should be funded to offer free prenatal care besides affordable emergency treatments for those living with HIV.
The main health education services that should be offered in this community include family planning, health living and eating habits, and preventive care. Reflectively, the government should finance most of the healthcare services. These services can be subsidized and made affordable by the members this community.
Recommendations
Offering guidance on technical activities and initiating discussions with the aim of sharing with other children on challenges that face them in their families. These activities may include financing their education, offering coping strategies and rehabilitating children from substance abuse.
Besides, offering psychological support through initiating interesting topics that relaxes the mind of such a child. This can be monitored by the nongovernmental organizations that offer shelter and security to these minors.
The general agreement is that wellness programs have profound positive benefits to children who have lost their parents or guardians to HIV related deaths. Through these initiatives, children have the opportunity to live happier, healthier, longer and more productive lives. Being the most important asset towards economic development, this policy initiative is a dramatic shift from a culture of treatment to prevention.
References
Fielding, J., & Briss, P. (2006). Promoting Evidence-Based Public Health Policy: Can We Have Better Evidence And More Action? Health affairs, 25(4), 969 – 978.
Sonia, N. (2007). Enrique’s Journey. New York: Random House.
AIDS is a plague as bad as ever known, and the cause is a virus. Researchers claim that capitalism and industrialization have a great impact on the spread of the disease and 8its distribution. The culture of capitalism promotes free sexual relations and free love; it influences globalization processes and improves connections between different parts of the world.
Population growth rates are the highest in most of Asia, Africa, and Latin America due to the high degree of fertility and the dramatic decrease in mortality following World War II. Improved living conditions such as potable water, better nutrition, and medical services have significantly decreased infant mortality rates. This allows for many more children to reach sexual maturity and have families of their own. In African countries, high levels of AIDS are a direct result of population growth and extreme poverty (Robbins 266). Unlike the developed nations of the world, most developing nations are not proceeding smoothly through the demographic transition. The developing regions do not have a major decline in the birth rate and appear to be stuck at the stage of low death rates and high birth rates. In most of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, people have not yet enjoyed an increase in their living standard that the industrial revolution has brought to developed nations (Robbins 265).
Poverty is another cause of AIDS. Culturally, there is often prestige for parents to have many children. A lack of education and birth control devices aggravates the impact of extreme poverty. Thus, birth rates remain high while death rates have been decreasing significantly due to advances in science and medical technology. There are connections between vanishing wilderness, pollution, overpopulation, poverty, war, and justice. During the fourth and final stage, some environmentalists see these connections and seek large-scale solutions that involve many aspects of society (Robbins 265). An expanding economy can carry out new programs to minimize poverty and improve environmental quality. In other words, economic growth reduces the problem of scarcity of income. Underdeveloped nations cannot be assisted if the United States endorses a policy of zero economic growth or asks its citizens to share more of their existing resources (Robbins 265).
Environmental degradation is a direct result of capitalism and capitalist culture. In general, pollution or habitat contamination occurs because society lacks some mature, well-developed methods of recycling or reusing resources that would otherwise be disposed of as waste (Robbins 267). One type of pollution is, in reality, nonrecoverable matter or waste heat. In fact, the term waste heat, or thermal pollution, is used to describe a human-induced alteration of natural water temperature. Following Robbin’s destruction of rainforests is a direct cause of AIDS (Robbins 267). In fact, the industrial revolution has barely penetrated some of these continents, where many nations lack the capital to increase their level of industrialization. This type of pollution can have consequences on different organisms in the environment. The solution to pollutants is unlikely to be found within a nation’s borders. It is increasingly becoming apparent that the transport of pollutants over long distances raises the question of global pollution such as ozone depletion, acid rain, and the greenhouse effect.
In sum, AIDS is a result of a careless attitude toward the environment and the planet, exploitation of natural resources, and poverty. Capitalism depletes limited resources of raw materials necessary to make such products, as well as the depletion of “clean air” in the environment. The use of natural resources at a rate higher than nature’s capacity to restore itself will result in the pollution of air, water, and land.
Works Cited
Robbins, R. H. Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism. Allyn & Bacon; 3 edition, 2004.
The issue of HIV/AIDS-positive status disclosure has become of major importance over the past decades. Whereas at the beginning of the epidemic, the therapists felt it was their duty to inform the patient’s surroundings of the issue, the introduction of the HIV/AIDS Confidentiality Act turned this duty into a forthright crime (“Limits on confidentiality,” 2017). Although this act is quite relevant in terms of human rights safety, there is a significant disadvantage of being unable to prevent others from the infection.
The most vivid example on the matter is the case of Nushawn J. Williams, who is believed to have intentionally infected more than a dozen women across the US. The man abused unsafe sexual intercourse after the medicals had revealed to him the positive results of the HIV test (Cooper, 1999). In order to find a balance between one’s privacy and others’ safety, the following options can be introduced.
The first option may seem general, but it still requires more recognition. Although almost every modern world community resident should now be aware of the potential unsafe sex implications, there are still many people who undermine the importance of contraception. Hence, there exists a strong necessity to introduce more preventative information via specific applications, advertisements, and voluntary events (Huang, Williams, Hocking, & Lim, 2016). In such a way, the significance of carefulness can be conveyed on the level of subconsciousness.
Another important matter is the fact that people who accidentally had unsafe sexual intercourse or were forced into it, still have a chance to protect themselves from being infected. Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) can be taken within the first few hours after the intercourse in order to block the infection (CDC, 2019). Thus, medical specialists should tell this to both HIV/AIDS-positive and negative sexually active individuals.
Taking everything into consideration, I may conclude that the revelation of one’s HIV/AIDS status is not an option to prevent the infection from spreading. As long as many people think that informing the sexual partner on the subject is a matter of trust, no one is safe. People should, first of all, think of their health and secure their safety with the help of contraception or prophylaxis treatment. In such a way, the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, if not stopped, can be controlled.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2019). PEP. Web.
Cooper, M. (1999). Drifter says he had sex with up to 300. Web.
Huang, E. T. Y., Williams, H., Hocking, J. S., & Lim, M. S. (2016). Safe sex messages within dating and entertainment smartphone apps: a review. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 4(4), e124.
Undoubtedly, segregation of any form is unethical and leads to racially or socially motivated conflicts. Whenever they arise, the consequences of segregation have always been hard to bear. Many people have lost their lives due to segregation. Ironically, segregation has never provided the solution to the prevailing circumstances. Instead, it causes more harm. Nevertheless, this essay is not about the segregation of white and black prisoners, or the separation of paltry criminals from the dangerous ones.
Here, we are discussing a paramount issue – segregation of HIV-positive prisoners. Indeed, we are examining the segregation of sick prisoners from well prisoners. Majorly, this issue has everything to do with proper living conditions. Everybody accepts that HIV is a lethal disease, and that inmates risk infection. The biggest debate on segregation of HIV-positive prisoners surrounds the ethical impact it renders to the inmates. As a result, we have two factions: the proponents and the opponents. The paper will examine two cons and two pros concerning the segregation of HIV-positive prisoners (Bass, 2000, p.1).
Pro: preventing further spread of HIV
The proponents of segregation of HIV-positive prisoners believe that segregation protects prisoners and the correctional staff from catching the disease. This is quite in order as aims to protect HIV-negative persons from becoming positive. The correctional staff must first identity prisoners already carrying the virus through mandatory testing and then place separately from the rest. Once identified, the correctional staff will know where to place the infected person thus, separating them from the rest. Separation will not mean stigmatization or treating them differently. Otherwise, these people pose great dangers to others.
After all, they are prisoners who committed mistakes and should not enjoy freedom like free persons. Recently, a prisoner in Utah State Prison threw a sharp object to a fellow prisoner that barely scraped his hand leading to breeding. A few months later, the inmate tested HIV-positive and as it came out, the object had HIV-positive infected blood. This inmate was innocent but due to some queer motives, he is now HIV-positive.
Thus, it is imperative to segregate HIV-positive inmates from HIV-negative ones in order to lessen the probability of an HIV-positive infected prisoner from using his or her infected blood to attack fellow prisoners. Prisoners who have the tendency to hurt fellow prisoners or even the correctional staff must not be spared and this explains why segregation is paramount (Is Segregation of HIV Positive Inmates Ethical, 2011, p.1).
Pro: protecting the general population
The second reason why segregation of HIV-positive prisoners is important is the general population. Everybody needs security of any kind. We need to protect our lives at any cost. Primarily, HIV spreads through contact with an infected person, that is, when the blood of a non-infected person meets HIV-positive blood, infection occurs. In prison cells, acts such as homosexuality and lesbianism are rampant. These activities lead to HIV infection and it is important that we segregate those who carry the virus from the rest.
It is better for HIV-positive individuals to participate in these dubious activities without involving those who are not yet carriers of the virus. The state should also control drugs from entering the precincts of prisons. Clearly, this is a genuine reason why segregation of HIV-positive persons should stay away from those not yet infected (Donald, 2001, pp. 164-170).
Evidently, some reports indicate that inmates practice activities such as homosexual and lesbianism to satisfy their long sexual desire. Thus, through segregation, the risk of HIV infection through these two treacherous activities can slow down. Worse still, there could be HIV infected persons serving sentences but hiding their status. This poses danger to those who may be participating in homosexuality and venous drug abuse, as the unidentified prisoners (carrying a virus) can infect others.
We all know that HIV can grow into AIDS. However, AIDS does not cause death but only weakens the body’s immune system thus, making it susceptible to other disease, which later cause death. Diseases such as Tuberculosis affect HIV-positive persons and can cause death easily. Thus, segregation of HIV-positive persons into well-ventilated and spacious regions will lessen the chances of contacting such diseases (Penny & Billy, 1999, pp. 101-108).
Con: Segregation leads to stigmatization
The opponents of the segregation of HIV-positive prisoners on the other hand, believe that segregation of HIV-positive prisoners is unethical and should be discouraged at all costs. They cite many reasons in support of their for example, they associate segregation with mental and psychological problems. Some prisoners might feel neglected, unwanted and rejected due to segregation. This can impair them mentally and psychologically. Some of them have even gone ahead to commit suicide or even committing murder. Segregated prisoners suffer from stigma and many of them even decide to starve to death. It is a form of harassment, systematic discrimination and contravention of international law, which no human being irrespective of his or her status would want to avoid. In fact, even medical practitioners’ advice against segregation.
By doing so, even rehabilitation will be a hard thing to perform. Those segregated would not want to see the HIV free persons thus, widening the gap further. If segregation of HIV-positive prisoners means that prisoners cannot secure a job even when under incarceration, then this is discrimination. For example, why should HIV-positive spend more time in prison than other fellow prisoners just because they cannot perform programs, which will enable them, be set free? Clearly, this discrimination leads to stigmatization hence, not fit for HIV-positive prisoners (Human Rights Watch, 2010, p.1).
In most cases, even after the state has released them, many of them cannot find a job due to social stigma among the public. However, it is important to note that these people need care and love for them to feel as part of the greater society. In many prisons, housing units for HIV-positive prisoners normally have tight security. All this is to segregate them from those not yet infected. At all times, HIV-positive prisoners serve their jail term under tight security zones – that cause more burdens to already burdened taxpayers (Dean, 2010, p.1).
Con: segregation disrespects the privacy of individuals
Imagine of a situation where family members and friends know your HIV status. Some of them even avoid talking to such persons leave alone greeting them with a hand. The compulsory testing means that some prisoners and even the correctional staff can pass clandestine information of somebody to third parties. In some cases, prisons in South Carolina and Alabama forces HIV-positive prisoners to identify themselves from the rest by wearing unique things such as armbands and brooch.
Clearly, this portrays an act of systemic discrimination, which is a violation of human rights. Ordinarily, this scenario forces HIV-positive prisoners to suffer mentally and some can even commit suicide. The report released by the Human Rights Watch acknowledged the sufferings that HIV-positive prisoners undergo under segregation. Family members and friends can discover the status of the member in prison by examining the housing assignment or from other inmates. Consequently, this can irritate some members, for instance, many HIV-positive prisoners have received tormenting letters from family members and friends initially knowing nothing regarding their status (Prisoners, 2010, p.1).
It is quite amazing that the severity of the crime committed is not the one that determines the sentence but the prisoner’s status. Any attempts to involve prisoners in mandatory testing are discrimination, and that the specific housing the HIV-positive prisoners is unfair. Additionally, HIV-positive prisoners have no accessibility to incarcerated jobs, hence; they cannot earn wages that will sustain them. Undeniably, in a just and free world, this is quite unfair and if this is the way, then segregation of HIV-positive prisoners is bad (Ricky, 1997, p.1).
Reference List
Bass, E. (2000). Separate but equal? Web.
Dean, E. (2010). Segregating HIV Positive Inmates Is Medically Unjustified and Hinders Rehabilitation. Web.
Donald, T. (2001). HIV, AIDS, and the law: legal issues for social work practice and policy. New York: Walter de Gruyter Inc.
Human Rights Watch. (2010). Sentenced to Stigma: Segregation of HIV-Positive Prisoners in Alabama and South Carolina. Web.
Is Segregation of HIV Positive Inmates Ethical? 2011. Web.
Penny, A. & Billy, L. (1999). Is the Segregation of HIV-Positive Inmates Ethical? Prison Journal, 79 (1), 101-118.
Prisoners. (2010). Web.
Rick, L. (1997). HIV/AIDS and Prisoners: The Case against Segregation. Web.
An interview with Craig Timberg, author of the book How the West Sparked the AIDS Epidemic and How the World Can Finally Overcome It, conducted by Dave Davies on the NPR show, Fresh Air
AIDS, as a disease which involves the most intimate of behaviors, reflects differences between cultures in the way they approach marriage and sex. This makes it a prime locus for poor communication between the leaders of a people and the people themselves, and between different peoples. Both in its origins and the ill-advised ways that it has been addressed by outside parties, it has been a mysterious and difficult disease to identify, to track, to understand, and to prevent, much less cure it!
Craig Timberg, a journalist with years of experience in South Africa, has written a book about the origin of the AIDS epidemic and the ways that Western countries have contributed to the problem. According to his interview with NPR radio’s Dave Davies, he makes a number of important and revealing points, including the following:
The AIDS virus originated in the chimpanzee, and genetic testing of samples from all over the world has shown how it may have spread from the non-human to the human primate population. He contends that the genetic tests which identify the amount of mutation which has occurred to the virus suggest a date of entry into the human population that coincides with the imposition of forced labor on the indigenous tribes by colonial powers.
This labor (carrying goods across the continent through the deep jungle, by foot or train or steam ship) would have pushed into the chimpanzee’s territories, and exposed them to contagion by, for example, butchering a chimpanzee. Additionally, the forced labor in mines placed huge numbers of men far away from their wives, and encouraged promiscuity. Many of these behaviors have been exacerbated in recent decades, and AIDS has exploded.
The circuitous route that the virus took allowed African leaders, like Thabo Mbeki., to deny the reality of the situation. Such ‘denialists’ blamed outsiders for its introduction. This led them to some very unconstructive responses. Timberg notes that in South Africa, effective drugs were not introduced in the way that they were in, for example, Zimbabwe.
Timberg notes that in countries where, paradoxically, western help was not forthcoming to the same extent, for example in Uganda, indigenously generated solutions have been remarkably helpful. He notes that the choice to encourage staying with your plural wives, as opposed to discouraging all sex, such as that made by leader Yoweri Museveni, which was more congruent with existing behavior, was easier to implement.
He used a homely image; that of the goat grazing in a circle while tied to a stake, to represent the kind of sexual behavior that would prevent death. He also asserts that the traditional African practice of circumcision would help to halt the spread of the disease (Timberg).
It is virtually impossible to understand or evaluate all these points without reference to anthropological ideas and techniques.
First, the European colonists entered Africa with absolutely no sense of cultural relativism (Scupin 2008, 58). They were deeply ethnocentric” (Scupin 2008, 18), and therefore regarded anything that the indigenous peoples did or avoided as mere superstition or pagan deviltry.
Thus, any local objections to going deep into the bush would have been dismissed and ignored, and the polygyny (Scupin 247) practiced especially by ‘big men’ (Scupin 221-222) was discouraged by missionaries without replacing it with workable sexual rules of behavior, according to Timberg (Timberg).
Second, the reaction of some of the indigenous leaders to the onset of the AIDS epidemic has been very reminiscent of the response to other disorders such as the Creutzfeldt-Jakob or “mad cow” disease, which was acquired from human brain ingestion. Indigenous theories of causation for such illnesses focused on sorcery (Scupin 229), or, in some cases witchcraft (Scupin 228).
This sort of belief system is mirrored in the way that some African leaders have been able persistently to deny the relationship between AIDS and sexual behaviors engaged in by the vast majority of the population rather than as purely a manifestation of poverty or sabotage or racism (Timberg) (a perspective which may be part of what leads to the appalling rape of baby girls for magical protection against AIDS).
Timberg contends that the most effective measures against the spread of AIDS have utilized the indigenous values (Scupin 2008, 53), norms (Scupin 2008, 56) and enculturation (Scupin 50) of the existing community, rather than any such values, norms, or cultural expectations imposed from outside.
Thus, scaring people into remaining faithful to their multiple wives works better than counseling abstinence in a culture that has little history of monogamy and regards sex as a positive good. Furthermore, Timberg asserts that traditional circumcision practices can reduce the spread of the virus by removing the fragile tissue that the virus apparently can populate more readily than the other tissues in that region of the body (Timberg).
This last is one of the areas for further careful investigation. There is already an appalling amount of damage done to young girls by genital mutilation. To encourage the re-introduction of a surgical procedure in a region where clean water is not even usually available seems risky. Furthermore, the practice of circumcision can mean all sorts of things, depending on the specific group, and may not accomplish the intended and hoped for effect.
Additionally, Timberg does not mention in his interview the destructive practice of ‘dry sex’, which sets up a receptive environment for the transmission of all sexually transmitted diseases. If he does not mention this in his new book, this would be an area for encouraging behavior change to investigate.
This interview gives what seems to be a thorough overview of the book, and the topic is compelling. The history of this dreadful disease offers multiple chances for the application of anthropology to understanding and problem solving. Only by endeavoring to understand human behavior in its own context can we hope to help humanity survive over the long term, and anthropology is a crucial tool in that endeavor.
Works Cited
Scupin, Raymond. Cultural Anthropology: A Global Perspective. 7. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall. 2012.