Aids In Africa

6 Pages 1483 Words

War is raging in Africa, and thousands are killed each day. The ammunition is a silent, yet deadly disease. The war is AIDS. According to South African President Nelson Mandella in l997, AIDS “is a threat that puts on the balance the future of nations.” In l998, 200,00 Sub Saharan Africans died in war, but two million died of AIDS. AIDS creates new pockets of poverty where parents die leaving children orphaned and forced to leave school to support younger siblings. It robs the society of it workers, its mothers, its fathers, and its future generations .As part of a global community, we need to understand the effects of this disease on Africa and we need to help eliminate its causes. The disease is raging because of poverty, lack of education, adherence to customary law, and inadequate health care. AIDS affects the political, economic, and social structure of African society.
“In most African countries customary, rather than civil law is still the first resort of most citizens.” ( Document 1) Many Africans live in rural areas and are governed by customary law. “Lack of social cohesion, conflict, and underdevelopment have undermined the development of a strong civil society and the vibrant, independent and committed judiciary needs to uphold civil law.” (Document 1) Cultural mores dominate many groups where arranged marriages, polygamy, and female circumcision are still in practice. Multiple sex partners as well as open wounds from female circumcision all contribute to the infection and spread of AIDS. In the book Virus, by Luke Montagnier, Montagnier states, “Certain ritual ceremonies sanction sexual promiscuity”. Customary law allows violence against women and women have no say over their bodies. Civil law is ineffective in outlawing destructive sexual behavior because many African nations are rooted in tradition that promotes such behavior.
In Africa, day-to-day existence is already a struggle. As document...