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AFRICA. Every 25 seconds, another person in Africa is infected with HIV. The Facts. Aids was first identified in the early 1980s, but the first case of the disease may have occurred much earlier - in Africa in the late 1950s.
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AFRICA Every 25 seconds, another person in Africa is infected with HIV.
The Facts • Aids was first identified in the early 1980s, but the first case of the disease may have occurred much earlier - in Africa in the late 1950s. • Aids (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is a weakening of the immune system by the human immune deficiency virus, HIV. The sufferer loses the ability to fight infection, and may fall victim to illnesses such as pneumonia, diarrhea, and tumors. • Aids kills some 6,000 people each day in Africa - more than wars, famines and floods.
AIDS • Most researchers believe humans acquired Aids from chimpanzees - which sometimes carry a similar virus - by eating them or being bitten by them. A minority view holds that it was spread by a vaccine made from infected chimpanzee tissue. • There is no cure for Aids, and no vaccine to prevent infection with HIV, but there are drugs that can slow down the spread of the virus and the rate at which it weakens the immune system. In some patients the virus has been reduced to undetectable levels. • The HIV virus is transmitted in body fluids including blood, semen, vaginal fluid and breast milk. It is most commonly passed on during sexual intercourse, shared use of hypodermic needles, or from mother to child. It can also be transmitted by blood infusion, but not by ordinary social contact.
The Problem • According to the UN, Aids is now the number one overall cause of death in Africa and is in fourth place among all causes of death worldwide. It's estimated that 2.8 million people died of Aids in 1999. • Deaths from Aids have been falling in the richest countries thanks to effective drugs, but in many others the epidemic continues. The UN estimates that Aids will kill more than one third of young adults in some parts of Africa. • The Aids epidemic began in Africa, but in many cases governments were slow to respond. The problem has been exacerbated by poverty, illiteracy, weak educational and public health systems and the low social status of women.
Can you put a $ on a life? • Simple humane support is needed in African communities. • The prices for these new drugs are more expensive in Africa than any other country. • Should these billion dollar pharmaceutical companies have the right to charge these prices? Is this ethical?
What does this have to do with Human Rights? • International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1966. Article 12, it is a right to everyone to enjoy "the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health." • The protection and promotion of human rights is necessary both to protect the inherent dignity of persons affected by HIV/AIDS and to achieve the public health goals of reducing vulnerability to HIV infection, lessening the adverse impact of HIV/AIDS on those affected and empowering individuals and communities to respond to HIV/AIDS. • The people of Africa are in and environment that does not educate about the spread of HIV/AIDS. The resources need to be sent there to educate the people and promote human rights of education, and medicine so that many people should not have to die.
Africa • Africa is an extremely heterogenous continent, and human rights violations come in many forms as well. From genocide, slavery, mass disappearances and torture, to denial of freedom of speech and of the press.
Africa Stats • South Africa has one of the highest incidents of rape in the world • In the home, it is estimated that one in three married women suffer domestic violence • Women now make up 25 percent of legislators compared to the 3 percent figure during apartheid and are aiming to raise their profile at next year's general election • In several countries,including DRC, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Liberia, and Ethiopia, individual activists faced intimidation, arrest, assault, and sometimes death for their advocacy of human rights.
Africa Stats • Maternal mortality rates averaged 606 per 100,000 live births over the period 1980-1992, as compared with 7 for the U.S. and 351 for all developing countries. • Each year, an estimated 20 million unsafe abortions occur. About 78,000 women, the vast majority of them in developing countries, die from the consequences of unsafe abortion, and untold millions suffer severe health effects. • African women do face particularly great obstacles. Adult female literacy in 1992 was only 45% in sub-Saharan Africa, as compared to a 59% average for all developing countries
Jails in Djibouti • According to the information food is extremely scarce, water is insufficient and there is no electricity. Cells are extremely cramped - reportedly 2 metres by 2 metres. Although some inmates have serious medical conditions visits are limited to visit from a Doctor twice a month. Moreover, it is alleged that they those in need are being denied transfer to a hospital.
News -Sudan • Crosswalk.com News Channel - Human Rights Watch of New York has asked the Sudanese President Omar Hassan Bashir to intervene on behalf of a pregnant young Dinka tribeswoman allegedly involved in adultery, now sentenced to death by stoning.
