In Africa there is a large portion of the population that is greatly affected by acquired immune deficiency syndrome also known as AIDS. This is the final stage of HIV which causes severe damage to the immune system. People who have AIDS are more likely to get infections and tumors that wouldn’t affect people with working immune systems. The spreading of the disease is hard to control because anyone who comes in contact with any bodily fluid of an infected person will most likely end up getting it as well. “About 22.5 million people in Africa have been infected by AIDS as of 2007”. The adult rate of infection worldwide is 1% while in Africa it is about 6.1%. The severity of the epidemic is largely caused by the “poverty, lack of female empowerment, and high rates of male worker migration”. One of the worst parts about the AIDS epidemic in africa is that the national health systems are ill equipped for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, which means that in all honesty the people are basically hopeless. Anything that they can do medically costs way more than the normal African has. In Europe from 1348 to 1350 there was an outbreak of the Yersinia pestis bacterium. This disease was also known as the black plague. It caused the deaths of 30 to 60 percent of europes population. More than 350 million people died from this epidemic. The European population took 150 years to recover from the high amount of death. The original carriers of the plague were the rats that were found on merchant ships. The disease infected all of Europe and there was really no way of avoiding getting it if anyone else in your village had it. The disease could be caught by anyone and most didn’t know what to do to avoid spreading the disease. No one could medically explain what was going on at the time. They had no way to cure the plague or prevent it from spreading which is why it spread so fast across Europe. The original carriers of the plague were the rats that were found on merchant ships. The black plague and the AIDS epidemic are very similar. The way that the AIDS epidemic is going right now is not looking good. They need to get better healthcare and make it available to everyone. Unlike during the black plague we know ways to make the disease easier to live with and can help people try not to spread it. If the AIDS epidemic is left alone then it could escalate to be as bad as the black plague and no one wants that to happen. The only way to prevent this from happening is to use the resources and knowledge that we do have and help the people in Africa that are infected.

2. Currently Saudi Arabia is dealing with a big controversy. The treatment of women in this country is not what many people consider right. All women, regardless of age, are required to have a male guardian. Women cannot vote or be elected to high political positions. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that prohibits women from driving. A lot of people think that all of these laws are part of the religion but the quran does not address the subject at all. The government is the real cause of all these laws. In Saudi Arabia they have a monarchy based on islam. The government is headed by a king who is also the commander and chief of the military. The king governs with the help of a council of ministers also known as the cabinet. The king has all the final say on anything that happens in the country. By him making all of the decisions the people are forced to live however the king htinks would be right. The laws about womens rights are not all because of religion it is because of the government. There could be bettr ways for the country to be run which included freedom of women but not if they keep a monarchy. In Europe during the age of enlightenment many things were realized that could be don’t better in all aspects of the country’s. The enlightenment was a cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe whose purpose was to reform society and advance knwledge. During this time there were many reforms that took place mostly in the church but also in government. “The Age of Enlightenment sought reform of the Monarchy by laws which were in the best interest of its subjects”. The enlightenment really helped to improve lives in Europe, it brought up new ideas and ways of thinking also it questioned things that most people wouldn’t have questioned otherwise. The treatment of women in Saudi Arabia is nothing like anywhere else in the world. They have no freedom whatsoever and it causes a lot of controversy between many. If there was a period of enlightenment in the country it would probably greatly help improve the rights othat women have. They don’t need to completely change their ways for example 99.9 percent of the countrys religion is islam so that is obviously working for them. The major problem that I see is with the government they have. A monarchy isn’t as equal as other types of government. If they reformed their government there would be a bigger chance of women having the rights that they deserve. The age of enlightenment in Europe was all for the people and that is exactly what is needed now for Saudi Arabia.