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Aids as a Disease

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Discuss the View That Hiv/Aids Is a Disease of Poverty
Social Problems
Chupical Shollah Manuel

HIV is a long term social problem in most underdeveloped countries. This takes us directly beyond the epidemiological aspects of the disease to the social and economic dimensions. Many social studies have revealed that HIV and AIDS is fast becoming a social cancer and it can be understood if one was to assess the social structure and the availability of resources in the society. The most affected persons are those who live in the lower strata of the social stratification due to inequalities that comes with social structure. This paper serves to explain that HIV and AIDS is a social problem of poverty and it also looks at other factors such as religion, promiscuity and child rights which also result in the spread of the disease. It is undisputed to say that poverty is implicated in the prevalence in most developing world. Because these countries are generally poor people are normally forced to engage in activities that end up putting them at the risk of HIV. United Nations (2004) revealed that in South Africa more than 6 million people where living with HIV. The paper also revealed that the majority number who were affected were blacks who are generally poor who have no proper housing facilities, mal-nutritional, lack of safe water. Further research has suggested that Botswana and Zimbabwe have high prevalence of the disease due to the poor conditions which prevails in these countries. In Zimbabwe around 2 million people are said to be contracting the disease and an assessment shows that those who are infected are mainly the poor people as compared with those who stay in low density suburbs. The general consensus is that poor people are pushed into risk behavior such as prostitution where they tend to sell their bodies for money so that they can earn a decent living.

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