Saturday 5 May 2012

HIV causes AIDS,but the SA government causes HIV & AIDS by Malaika wa Azania

by Malaika Wa Azania on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 2:19am ·
By the time people finish reading this note,i shall have gained many enemies and lost some friends.But this note MUST be written.

Learned scientists around the world all agree that the Human Immune-deficiency Virus (HIV) is a sexually transmitted disease that attacks the leucocytes of an organism,weakening it.This makes allowance for opportunistic diseases to have a field day in the weakened being,until the virus metamorphosises into an Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).They also say that the HI-virus cannot be cured.
I will not argue them,because i'm no expert in human biology and have limited understanding of teratogens and diseases.However,what i want to raise is the question not of HOW does one get infected with HIV but rather,the WHY.
To answer this question,we must review the Health and Welfair of SA from 1994 to date.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic continued to deepen during the period of 1994-2004,with an estimated 3.6m people being HIV+ by the end of 1998 and a shocking 5,3m being HIV+ by the end of 2010.These statistics are from the Millenium Edition of the SOUTH AFRICA SURVEY 1999/2000,conducted by the South African Institute of Race Relations.However,they cannot be 100% accurate,due to the fact that many people,particularly in rural areas,don't disclose their statuses nor go for tests,opting instead for traditional healing means.This indicates that the number is much higher than estimated.

When one looks at the demography of this country,it is clear to ascertain that there is a direct relationship between HIV/AIDS and illiteracy,and a direct relationship between illiteracy and poverty.To dissect this relationship,let's take a look at ILLITERACY and UNEMPLOYMENT:

>ILLITERACY is the inability to read or write.23% of our population is illiterate.13% of this group is Afrikans,7% is Coloureds,2% is Indians and the remaining % is White.

>UNEMPLOYMENT is non-participation in the economic growth of a country,known as joblessness.Our rate of unemployment is currently standing at 49,3%,with youth (between the ages of 18-35) being in a great percentage at 42,5%.Included in this are tertiary graduates.
With Black people being the majority,it stands to reason that they are in the majority in this percentage.

Without lengthy explanations,we can clearly see that the relationship between illiteracy and unemployment is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL.

HEALTH
According to UNAIDS,the proportion of adults (18years+) in SA who were HIV+ increased steadily between 1997 and 2010,in the same period that 3,1m learners dropped out of school due to reasons ranging from drug/alcohol abuse to financial exclusion.

Key points must be looked into:
> the link between apartheid and illiteracy
> the link between illiteracy and unemployment
>the link between unemployment and the government's misappropriation of funds
>the link between unemployment and pregnancy
>the link between pregnancy and poverty
>the link between poverty and diseases

The last point is of great importance to me,because it highlights the argument that i'm posing:

>People who are living in poverty often live in terrifying geographic conditions,in squatter-camps like Alexandra or Khayelitsha,where recreational facilities are limited if at all available.In these communities,young people have no means of educational extra-mural activities or recreational spaces and so,pass the time engaging in sexual activities.
>Because of lack of resources,these people often drop out of school or never go to tertiary,rendering them functional illiterates for life.
They join the unemployment pool and then have children,repeating this vicious cycle.
>What then happens is that they make babies that they can't take care of,and so,to get money,use the only thing they have: sex.
This makes them vulnerable,because they end up relying on men to sustain them,and will do anything to keep those men,including having unprotected sex,often with HIV+ men.

So two factors are to blame:
>Lack of resources
>Lack of knowledge

Both these factors are caused by the greed of the government,greed that knows no boundries.Factors such as unemployment and illiteracy can also be alleviated by the government with the billions that it wastes on fat salaries for MPs,parties and unnecessary spending fueled by capitalist nature.
Due to this,i believe that the SA government,by not tackling the education and health system as it ought to,is perpetuating poverty and thus,causing HIV.

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