South Africa is one of the primary geographical areas where HIV/AIDS is prevalent.
In Southern Africa, as elsewhere in the continent, the AIDS epidemic is not just a health crisis. It is also “a major threat to development and to human society.” “If there was no HIV/AIDS, South Africa would have 4.4 million more people than today, the size of a major city. This significant slow-down in population growth is causing a slowdown in economic growth and resulting in social ills, researchers warn.” As the growing population of South Africa is supposed to be lower than the death rate due to HIV and AIDS it effecting far more than the death toll but also the country as a whole socially and more importantly economically. Almost a third of South Africa’s population, or 31 percent, is under the age of 15 today,” highlights UNICEF chief of child survival and development Dr. Siobhan Crowley. “This signifies a serious population imbalance. And the South African government is struggling to provide the support those young people need, in terms of education, social welfare and health services.”
Title: HIV-Related Deaths Slow Economy
Author: Kristina Palitza
Publication: Daily Monitor, 27 January 2012
URLhttp://0search.proquest.com.iii.sonoma.edu/docview/918207391/13502E1F1E23CF117C5/11?accountid=13949
Title: The Effects of the Aids Epidemic on Southern Africa’s Children}
Author: Barry Mason
Publication: World Socialist Web Site, 10 February 2011
URL: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/may2001/aids-m28.shtml
Faculty Evaluator: Dr. Jeff Baldwin, Sonoma State University
Student Researcher: Taylor Colacion, Sonoma State University