According to the article “S. Africa Embraces Study Critical of Health Policy,” written by Celia W. Dugger, from the New York Times,South Africa has one of the worst H.I.V. epidemics in the world. Dugger states that, “South Africa, with less than 1 percent of the world’s population, now bears 17 percent of the world’s burden of H.I.V. infection. It has more H.I.V.-infected people than any other nation.” Since H.I.V. can be passed from mother to infant, child morality has risen significantly since 1990. The murder rate of women, who have been killed by their sexual partners, has also dramatically increased; about 6 times the world’s average.
Top scientists of the nation recently demanded their government to implement a new policy for the treatment and prevention of H.I.V. The obstacle that South African scientists needed to overcome was a faulty government that did not implement a strong health policy towards H.I.V. Now that there is a new Minister of Health, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, South Africa may have a new hope in controlling this epidemic.
The faulty health system was evaluated recently by The Lancet, a medical journal based in London. The Lancet analyzed the mistakes made by the South African government and proposed an affordable solution. Some aspects of the policy would include: strategies and medical procedures used for the prevention of mothers transmitting H.I.V. to their babies, deterring people from having multiple sexual partners, and promoting circumcisions for men.
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