AIDS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

AIDS - Essay Example This disease has been marked as the second most frequent pathological condition across the globe which has highlighted the fact that this condition is not restricted to a particular region but follows a global pattern. It has been labeled as the first most common cause of death in Africa where it has been reported to lead to more than 20 percent of the deaths in this particular region. Following the identification of the disease, it has been known to result in greater than 20 million deaths across the world. International health organizations have noted the severity of the issue and the World Health Organization put forward the fact that 39.4 million people had AIDS or they had a present infection with human immunodeficiency virus in the year 2004 (Davidson et al 2009). The region of Africa has the highest number of people with this disease and 70 percent of the total AIDS patients belong to this region. The United States of America also has a large number of people suffering from th e disease and in the year 2002, it was analyzed that 900,000 residents of the country had the disease. The disease serves as a grave problem in the country as it has been analyzed to be the second life taking reason amongst the males of the age group of 25 to 44 years in the country. Young children are also not spared and in the year 2002, it was found out that 800,000 more children were affected with this pathology which may result due to passing of the virus from the mother to the child during birth or via breast feeding from infected mothers (Robbins et al 2005). Thus it can be seen that a very large number of people are affected with this condition but many people avoid presenting their problems owing to the stigma associated with this condition. Thesis: AIDS is a global problem which affects a large number of people and these people should be helped and societies should be created to assist these individuals. The stigma associated with this condition is unjustified as the patie nts suffering from AIDS are like other patients who require help and assistance to overcome their condition. Support: Jonathon Mann who was the director of the Global AIDS Program of the World Health Organization for this syndrome in the year 1987 already created insight into the stigmatizing aspect of AIDS. He explained that overcoming the social response associated with AIDS was extremely important in tackling the issue of AIDS across the world. This problem associated with the condition of AIDS was again highlighted in the year 2000 by Peter Piot who was the executive director of UNAIDS. The stigma and the way the patients are treated negatively further increases the suffering of the people who have AIDS. These patients avoid coming forward owing to the fact that they might be labeled in a negative manner (Parker 2002). It has been analyzed that the morals of the people who suffer from AIDS are questioned. An incident of a gynecologist who was suffering from AIDS is a very good e xample of this stigma. The doctor was widely publicized in the media and was criticized for risking the health of the patients who might be affected with the disease. A major stigma associated