It can be said that HIV/ AIDS is one ofthe greatest dangers in the history of humanity during the last two centuries,which is a dilemma, urgent and global. The prevention and repression of thiscentury disease are always considered a top concern of every nation in theworld. In 2001, in Time magazine, “Death Stalks A Continent” byJohanna McGeary talked about the HIV/ AIDS epidemic in Africa. Since then, theauthor has sent a message on HIV/ AIDS prevention to be the top concern ofhumanity and highlight the negative effects of stigma and discrimination onvictims of HIV/ AIDS.
The author also urged all nations and the whole world tofight against this pandemic. To this day, the message still has a strong impacton the thinking and actions of individuals and the whole society in the fightagainst this century disease. The article is about stories of people wholived in Africa and had an HIV/ AIDS disease, and each story has its meaning.From there, readers can understand what African people have suffered for manyyears. Johanna McGeary explains that AIDS set off in African societiescontinues to kill millions of people. The ultimate tragedy, she contends, isthat so many people there do not know, or do not want to know, what ishappening.
The unexpected herald’s victory, for the disease-denial, cannot keepthe virus at bay. McGeary contemplates how the government against HIVtransmission would be if what is happening in Africa were happening in theWest.First of all, we need to define “Whatis HIV/ AIDS?” AIDS is the acronym for Acquired Immune DeficiencySyndrome. According to The kimarapeereducators, HIV is the abbreviation of theterm Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which refers to the virus that causes AIDSin humans. It can degrade human immunity and resistance, so people often havesymptoms such as dermatitis, diarrhea, eye pain, tuberculosis, …
but notcompletely. The annual statistics on HIV/ AIDS always startle us, showing us,that HIV/ AIDS is a threat to all humanity. Scientists around the world haveclaimed that HIV spreads only through three main pathways: unprotected bloodtransfusions, promiscuity, and mother-to-child transmission. In my opinion, Icannot bring myself to think “they are sick, I do not get sick, what to doto me” or “they get sick, stay away.” Human mobility to a new continent oftenleads to pandemics that kill large numbers of indigenous people who have neverdeveloped immunity to foreign diseases. However, the arrival of Europeans inAfrica a century ago is most likely a trigger for a pandemic that killed notonly millions of indigenous peoples but also the world a few decades ago: HIV/AIDS pandemic. It may have happened several times, in the earlier centurieswhen Africa had little contact with the outside world.
At the beginning of the20th century, as trade began to develop, thousands of porters moved in the areacreating opportunities for the virus to spread to commodity exchanges. One ofthe first victims – perhaps a hunter, porter or ivory seeker – had contractedHIV to his partner. Then, the virus broke out in the trading post beforespreading along the Sangha River in other commercial towns on the trade route.For spreading, HIV requires a population large enough to sustain an outbreakand a sexual culture in which people have more than one partner. A crowdedplace, many people moving frequently, the mess is a perfect environment tospread this deadly virus. They argue that without the tear of Africa in Europe,it is unlikely that HIV could spread beyond Cameroon’s southern hemisphere tokill tens of millions of people.
UNAIDS says thousands of African girls andyoung women are infected each week. Many adolescent girls do not know they haveHIV, so they do not seek help or receive medical treatment. In fact, forvarious reasons, young women have sex with older men – who are also known as”sweet dads” and infected with HIV by men. The mortality rate foradolescent HIV/ AIDS is high.” A common law of HIV infection should beabolished. These are young girls and women who are infected with HIV from oldermen. These men are infected with HIV because of having sex with a woman who hascontracted the disease since they were young.
By 2015, seven thousand fivehundred girls and young women between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four areinfected with HIV each week. From 2010 to 2015, the number of women aged betweenfifteen and twenty-four infected with HIV was reduced by only six percent. Fewprograms are being developed to help young women protect themselves.
They arefacing a major threat of high HIV risk, while the rates of HIV testing andmedical treatment are so low. “The world is failing to protect youngwomen, and we need to work harder,” said UNAids Executive Director MichelSidibé. Michel Sidibé adds that in Africa, girls are vulnerable.
There are manyworrisome problems in African society. Gender inequality, patriarchalism hasrestricted women and girls to the promotion of their abilities. It is extremelydifficult for girls to avoid the epidemic of HIV/ AIDS because of the problemof gender imbalance, violence in society, etc. Due to poverty, some girls havehad sex. Sex with older men to make money.
Besides, education is also veryimportant. “Studies have shown that high-educated girls are less likely to getHIV,” added by Michel Sidibé.In conclusion, we cannot divide ourselvesinto two “we and them” worlds, the healthy and the infected. In thatworld, “silence is synonymous with death.” Let’s stand side by side,hands warm love, hand in hand, let’s push together and destroy this terrible disease.So that human beings do not have to live in tears but in a happy and friendlysmile.
