IMPACT OF HIV ON SOCIETY

3096 WORDS

The human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) pandemic is one of the most serious contemporary sexual health related issue affecting the human race today. By the end of 2009, it was approximated that 34 million people were living with the HIV virus and deaths related to AIDS were about 1.8 million people. HIV/AIDS has been the worst pandemic since its discovery; having claimed over twenty five million lives by 2005 with the Sub- Saharan Africa being the most affected (Douek, Roederer & Koup, 2009). This paper focuses on the impact – psychosocial, cultural and economic of HIV/AIDS and its related sexual health problems on the individual as well as the community. HIV/AIDS has a huge impact on the infected individual’s family unit and the community they live in. The impact is dependent on the mode in which the virus is transmitted among communities (and who it infects), the diagnosis of infection, and the community setting in which the individual and family live.

Introduction

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome