As Adam and I begin our “Organization & Community Needs Assessment” report, I am reminded (rather repetitively, and usually daily) of how much the HIV/AIDS pandemic has had an impact on this society. So of course, I’m blogging about it…
This country has literally been devastated by this illness and worse yet, South Africa has had little success with any significant means of combating its effects. All in all, HIV/AIDS seems to pervade every aspect of life here – adults are too sick from minor illnesses to work, children lose their parents and relatives, and our most critical asset – health workers – are undertrained and overwhelmed with patients. This is not an uphill battle, it is a losing battle. How do we continue to fight it?
I felt it was important to include this post, however depressing it may seem, because the issues included here are ones that we face everyday, sometimes in small but usually in big ways. And each day we seem to learn a little more about how HIV/AIDS is crippling this country and why things have gotten so bad. The statistics are staggering, the myths are truly frightening, treatments are often utterly inefficient at combating the whole pandemic, and stigma about HIV/AIDS has created a population more scared to know the truth than to live in denial. If you want, read on to see what I mean:
SOUTH AFRICAN STATISTICS:
- South Africa is ranked #1 in deaths from HIV/AIDS worldwide
- 67% of Sub-Saharan Africa (including South Africa) is HIV+
- Mmpumalanga’s (known, i.e. tested) HIV+ population is over 15%
- 1 in every 3 females in South Africa is HIV+
SOUTH AFRICAN MYTHS:
- HIV does not cause AIDS
- Mosquitos can transmit HIV
- Unprotected sex with a virgin (or a small child) can cure AIDS
- Condoms are infected with HIV by the government
- HIV is caused by sex during the mourning period of a spouse’s death
- Whites created AIDS to kill blacks and gays
- The rich people have a cure for AIDS, but they will not share it with the poor people
- No one actually dies of AIDS, they just die of the “flu”
SOUTH AFRICAN TREATMENTS (this is the technical stuff):
- ARTs begin at a CD4 Count of 250 (not 350, as in the U.S.) – this is super low!
- There are far less ARVs available in South Africa
- There are only 2 common HAART regiments (compared to the 20+ in the U.S.)
- Resistance is EXTREMELY common and often, untreatable thereafter
To make all matters worse, stigma is a HUGE problem in South Africa. So the majority of people that suspect that they or someone they know may be positive, will often avoid getting tested. Furthermore, if a person tests positive, they will often deny their status, refuse treatment, and refrain from sharing this information with any partners, friends, or family.
Sandile, one of our Training LCFs, explained the AIDS pandemic in South Africa best by offering the following story:
“In South Africa, when a snake enters a home, we first kill the snake to protect our family and then go outside to try to find where the snake came from. But for some reason, when the snake that was AIDS entered our home, we ran outside to find where it came from and meanwhile, it was inside killing our children.”
So how do we continue to fight it? I’m not quite sure we have an answer for this yet, and maybe we won’t have an answer after two years…
Every morning, I just remind myself that working with children is always a good place to start, whatever the circumstances... A place to start.
Dearest Jess, it is so sad and statistics do not begin to tell the story.They do not account for the millions of individual stories. The only way to even comprehend the problem is to experiance it. The problems are so big the only way to handle them is one person at a time and thats what you and Adam are doing. You cannot "fix" much more than that. In the U.S. most say "how terrible" and think it dosent occur here to those levels but here are a few more statistics that also do not tell the real story. In South Africa the life expectancy is 49.81 for black males and 52.5 for black females (some recent evidence may show that the life expectancy of black women in S.A. has actually gone down!). Unemployment among black South Africans is estimated at 45-50%. The aids number is staggering and has no comparison but on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota the "stats" are equally scary. Avergae life expectancy for males is 48.1 and females 52. Both below South Africa and Somalia! Unemployment is between 83 and 90%! Over half the population over 40 has diabetes. As high as 75% suffer from alchoalisim and between 60-80% of all infants are born have Infant Alchoal Syndrome. In South Africa among blacks average annual income is approx $1800. At Pine Ridge between $2300-$3000 on a cost of living basis Pine Ridge is actually slightly poorer. People per household is between 8-10 in S.A. and over 12 at Pine Ridge.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question on how different it may be in two years I will tell you about a man I recently read about at Pine Ridge. He said when "I started in 1985 the unemployment in Pine Ridge was estimated at 85%, today in 2009 it is estimated at 85%. In 1985 when I started alchoalisim was estimated at 70%, in 2009 it may actuially be higher". For some it has been be said that I must feel that I have wasted my life, I have affected nothing. The "stats" are the same or worse! I might agree except for the knowledge of the hundreds and perhaps thousands of lives I know I have saved or changed" I choose to measure my success that way!...I agree. Keep the vision and remain steady of heart!