HIV/AIDS
and health care crisis in developing countries
Since the time HIV/AIDS was discovered in
the early 1980s, the pandemic has spread rapidly worldwide, especially in
developing countries. According to UNAIDS, in 2006 39.5 million people in the
world were living with HIV/AIDS, a figure 2.4 million more than the 2004 figure.
The report also indicates that about two thirds of all people in the world
living with HIV/AIDS (i.e. 24.7 million) are in sub-Saharan Africa. Efforts to
fight this pandemic in developing nations are, however, being hampered by
shortage of health workers, inadequate capacity (trained care givers and
infrastructure), existence of weak health care systems and insufficient medical
supplies, amongst others.
Shortage of health care workers is an
acute problem in developing countries today. The most notable causes of this
problem are emigration of doctors and nurses to industrialized countries in
search for better salaries and working conditions, death of health personnel
from HIV/AIDS related illnesses, and developing nations’ lack of capacity and
funds to train adequate health care workers. Pervasiveness of HIV/AIDS related
diseases, malaria, and TB have also exacerbated the problem.
The shortage of health workers is seen
primarily in Africa and rural parts of Asia, where many of them are migrating to
wealthy nations to seek jobs. The countries with the largest health worker
shortages include India, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya,
Tanzania, most of West Africa and Peru. A CNN report of August 3, 2004 indicates
an increase in the number of certified nurses from former British colonies such
as Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, Botswana, and South Africa appearing in the British
register of nurses, leaving about 60 percent of nursing positions unfilled in
some of these countries. The New York
Times (June 27, 2007) also reported the existence of acute shortage of
health care workers in Africa. It reported that Rwanda has only 500 doctors that
serve 10 million people, resulting into a doctor to patient ratio of one to
20,000. The paper also alluded to the fact that in Rwanda the majority of people
will not see a physician in their lifetime.
Developing nations that have been hit by
HIV/AIDS pandemic are also facing shortage of health facilities. Most developing
nations have poor and/or shortage of health infrastructures, insufficient
medical equipments, and shortage of drugs and supplies. These challenges are
worsened by existence of corruption in the health care systems of some
countries. This makes few drugs and medical equipments that were available in
public hospitals and clinics to vanish and find their way to private hospitals,
pharmacies and drug stores. As a result, poor people who cannot afford to pay at
private hospitals and clinics, or purchase drugs from pharmacies, are the ones
who suffer. The poor in these countries do not have health insurance with which
to access quality health care from private health care
providers.
Persistence of infectious diseases such as
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (especially a virulent new form of TB) and malaria are
among the major threats today. These diseases have claimed, and continue to
claim, many lives of people worldwide. A virulent new form of TB, which is drug
resistant, poses a major threat to the general public in this era in which
people travel from one part of the world to another with much ease.
The number of people living with HIV/AIDS
increased from eight million in 1990 to about 40 million today. Sixty two
percent of HIV/AIDS cases are in sub-Saharan Africa. In this region, according
to NextAids report, an African child loses a parent to
AIDS in every 14 seconds, and out of 15 million orphans in Africa, only 10
percent are receiving some kind of support.
What you can do to help
·
Lobby Congress to consider increasing
PEPFAR funds and include in it a component of capacity building or training for
health care workers in developing countries.
·
Advocate for cancellation of debts of
low-income countries so that that money should be put into social services such
as the health sector.
·
Ask governments of industrialized
countries to stop or reduce their dependency of doctors and nurses from
developing nations.
·
Developing nations should be asked to end
corruption in their health care systems
Links
·
Health
care in southern countries: Mortal shortage (Oxfam France)
·
Lobby for
change of U.S. global AIDS policies and funding (Global AIDS
Alliance)