HIV: Reaching Global Goals? December 1, 2011
Posted by acroanmph in Global Health, Public Health.Tags: disease prevention, Health, HIV-free, HIV/AIDS, politics, Search for a Cure, World AIDS Day
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Thirty years of an infectious pandemic, drug research, public health education, and counseling have brought us to the point where we boldly announce the goal of an HIV-free generation in the next three years. This may seem attainable as HIV is a preventable disease. Personal behavior changes will determine the rate of infection. Assuming we will curb behaviors of all people who engage in IV drug use and unprotected sex, especially at a time when economies are struggling, is delusional.
Greece’s troubled economy has seen new infections rise by 52% in 2011, and that rate is expected to increase to 60% by the end of the year. (The US rate of increase is about 7%.) The rate of injected drug use is increasing because people can no longer afford other methods, and there have been heavy cuts to prevention in the form of free needles. The World Health Organization recommends 200 per year per user and Greece is handing out only three. Mobile testing units which frequently hit areas of high prostitution and drug use have ceased, in lieu of free-standing facilities in “posh neighborhoods,” out of reach of those who need them most. Drug therapy is becoming more unattainable, and according to Reuters and the National School of Public Health,
Antiretroviral drugs cost Greece at least 1,000 euros per patient a month. For the state to pay for all those people would cost just over 130 million euros a year. According to Christianna Rizopoulos, who collects data at the Hellenic Center’s HIV office, there is talk among health professionals that the government plans to cut its contribution for drugs to 600 euros per treatment per month, so patients would have to foot almost half the bill.
And this at a time when unemployment is up, hovering around 20%.
Outlooks for the US economy project at least a decade, maybe two, for recovery. Currently, there are over 250,000 Americans unknowingly carrying the virus. Fear of stigma prevents many from being tested, even though access to care is fairly good. Hillary Clinton’s hope of zero new infections by combining prevention techniques may work on paper, but realistically it’s a pipe dream until economies stabilize.
The government is not going to stop new infections. YOU are. David Scondras, CEO and Founder of Search For A Cure/HIV Treatment Advocacy, explains how you can protect yourself:
For confidential testing, find a site near you by entering your zip code. Pass it on.
Peace. It’s Your Business. November 23, 2011
Posted by acroanmph in Global Health.Tags: Economy, Global health, Global Peace Index, Nobel Peace Prize, Peace, politics, Social sustainability
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Humanity for economic prosperity.
Usually, a study of peace is really a focus on conflict. Since 2007, however, a Global Peace Index ranks 153 countries measuring 23 indicators including income, social sustainability, spending, warring, climate change, amount spent on weapons, safety, respect for human rights, education and distribution of resources. The top-rated countries in this index provide an opportunity to study the structure of peaceful nations, and the tools we need to determine the peacefulness and economic environment we can create for our own future.
A nation’s inequalities define its functionality and have a direct impact on its economy. As the Institute for Economics and Peace claims, violence—both internal and external—creates costs for business and government and reduces productivity. This seems obvious, but it translates into billions of dollars. Had the U.S., which ranked 82nd on the GPI, similar levels of peacefulness to Canada, ranking 8th, the U.S. economy would have benefitted by $361 billion per year, and would have stimulated about 2.7 million additional jobs, reducing our unemployment rate by about 20%. In turn, arts and business would also flourish.
The strength of a society’s peace factor determines the likelihood that the society can withstand serious crises. Social sustainability structures are outlined in this short video:
Interestingly, the two social sustainability structures that carry the most weight are Acceptance of the Rights of Others, and Good Relations with Neighbors. The U.S. could begin it’s climb up the index ladder by focusing on these two notions.
For the first time, the United States was ranked according to state and based upon the absence of violence.
Image by ChartsBin.com
We, each of us, can shape our own future both individually and collectively. Ignoring the data for structure of peace would be irresponsible and detrimental to our economic future. We are now at the precipice. How unwise it would be to let another year pass in the same direction we’ve been heading. Our federal government is losing stability and has become an unreliable factor. We, as people and institutions, must start going about the business of peace and hope the government will join us, as it is a necessary indicator on the index. We must rely on ourselves to accomplish peace. Don’t think as an individual you can make much of a difference? Let this woman be your inspiration.
Global Peace Index 2011
- Iceland
- New Zealand
- Japan
- Denmark
- Czech Republic
- Austria
- Finland
- Canada
- Norway
- Slovenia
- Ireland
- Qatar
- Sweden
- Belgium
- Germany
- Switzerland
- Portugal
- Australia
- Malaysia
- Hungary
- Uruguay
- Poland
- Slovakia
- Singapore
- Netherlands
- United Kingdom
- Taiwan
- Spain
- Kuwait
- Vietnam
- Costa Rica
- Laos
- United Arab Emirates
- Bhutan
- Botswana
- France
- Croatia
- Chile
- Malawi
- Romania
- Oman
- Ghana
- Lithuania
- Tunisia
- Italy
- Latvia
- Estonia
- Mozambique
- Panama
- South Korea
- Burkina Faso
- Zambia
- Bulgaria
- Namibia
- Argentina
- Tanzania
- Mongolia
- Morocco
- Moldova
- Bosnia and Hercegovina
- Sierra Leone
- The Gambia
- Albania
- Jordan
- Greece
- Paraguay
- Cuba
- Indonesia
- Ukraine
- Swaziland
- Cyprus
- Nicaragua
- Egypt
- Brazil
- Equatorial Guinea
- Bolivia
- Senegal
- Macedonia
- Trinidad and Tobago
- China
- Gabon
- United States of America
- Bangladesh
- Serbia
- Peru
- Cameroon
- Angola
- Guyana
- Montenegro
- Ecuador
- Dominican Republic
- Guinea
- Kazakhstan
- Papua New Guinea
- Nepal
- Liberia
- Uganda
- Congo
- Rwanda
- Mali
- Saudi Arabia
- El Salvador
- Tajikistan
- Eritrea
- Madagascar
- Jamaica
- Thailand
- Turkmenistan
- Armenia
- Uzbekistan
- Kenya
- Belarus
- Haiti
- Kyrgyz Republic
- Cambodia
- Syria
- Honduras
- (blank)
- Iran
- Niger
- Mexico
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Venezuela
- Guatemala
- Sri Lanka
- Turkey
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Algeria
- Maruitania
- Ethiopia
- Burundi
- Myanmar
- Georgia
- India
- Philippines
- Lebanon
- Yemen
- Colombia
- Zimbabwe
- Chad
- Nigeria
- Libya
- Central African Republic
- Israel
- Pakistan
- Russia
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- North Korea
- Afghanistan
- Sudan
- Iraq
- Somalia
