Examine the causes of high HIV/AIDS rates in Southern Africa and their economic effects. Evaluate the effectiveness of both preventative and palliative treatments.

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Examine the causes of high HIV/AIDS rates in Southern Africa and their economic effects. Evaluate the effectiveness of both preventative and palliative treatments.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus, infamously known worldwide as HIV, is a communicable disease that causes the progressive failure of the immune system within human beings. The developed form of HIV, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, known as HIV/AIDS, and like its less harmful counterpart, it is currently an incurable disease. There is much speculation to how HIV came into existence, but of what is know, there are four major modes of transmission: sexual intercourse (unsafe sex), breast milk, contaminated needles and perinatal transmission. In contrast to popular belief, HIV/AIDS does not kill, however it is a contributing factor. The failure of the immune system allows curable diseases to become lethal, known as opportunistic infections.  Fortunately, there are several preventative measures one can take, such as the use of contraception, celibacy, proper education and honesty in a relationship.  These prove to the best solution to the problem of HIV, but for those who have already contracted the disease, several Pharmaceutical companies have developed ARV’s(Anti retro virals). These cocktail of drugs slow down the development of HIV into AIDS, and with these a person can survive for over 20 years.

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HIV/AIDS is a pandemic, but of all the affected regions globally, Southern Africa is heavily affected, with countries like Zambia and Zimbabwe having a life expectancy of 39 and 47.6 years respectively. The main causes of the rapid infection rate in Southern Africa are the cultural, religious and behavioural obstacles faced.

Many Africans believed that HIV was a myth created by the Western World as a device to keep the entire continent in poverty, and as such, many did not relent in their sexual activities, and only relented once they were visibly ill, by that time developed AIDS. With ...

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