A global health issue -incidence, etiology, and impact

A global health issue -incidence, etiology, and impact

Global health initiatives mainly involve humanitarian efforts aimed at collaborating with regions and allocating surplus resources, particularly funds for infectious diseases and other global health issues- such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malaria, immunization programs, maternal and child health, among others.

HIV/ AIDS has remained a challenging global epidemic. HIV infection is caused by a virus called human immunodeficiency virus that gets transmitted through infected body fluids, including blood, vaginal secretions, and semen. According to UNAIDS (2019), it was estimated that 37.9 million HIV/AIDS known cases were reported globally in 2018. Among them, approximately 36.2 million cases were adults, and the remainder were minors below the age of fifteen years. The annual HIV infection incidence was 1.7 million cases in 2018. During the same year, approximately 770000 deaths as a result of HIV/AIDS-related illnesses got reported worldwide. Regionally, the impact of HIV/AIDS is more rampant in developing countries.

A Global Health Agency to manage the issue

The International AIDS Society (IAS) is known to be the world’s largest agency dealing with HIV/AIDS. IT includes professionals from over 170 countries worldwide. The agency has integrated efforts in advocating for and initiates urgent efforts essential in reducing the global impact of HIV/AIDS. Through its stewardship of the significant HIV conferences globally, improved efforts are directed towards increasing scientists’ integration, policymakers, healthcare providers, those living with HIV and the broader community to improve policies and programs in HIV/AIDS (Psomas, Waters, Barber, et al., 2019). Their educational funds and HIV research on prevention are integral in managing the issue.

The agency’s current specific global health focus and what it can do to help solve this problem

A focus on IAS agency vision, which is impacting a global force of professionals collaborating to prevent, control, and treat HIV/AIDS, led to the current global health focus. The agency focuses on increasing the accountability of individuals in the leadership spheres for the delivery of adequate resources for the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Besides, they aim at integrating HIV into primary healthcare and other health services. Another focus by the agency is increasing efforts directed towards research programs on HIV, tuberculosis, and co-infections of the virus. Finally, they are focusing on scrubbing off of HIV stigmatization and discrimination and increasing awareness on human rights across the globe.

vulnerable population affected

The majority of those affected by HIV/AIDS are in low-and middle-income countries. Statistically, 57% of HIV cases ere reported in eastern and southern Africa, 16% in Asian countries, and around 13% in the West and Central Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa, HIV cases are more prevalent among women (55%) as compared to their male counterparts. Additionally, in 2017, an estimated 58% of new HIV infections were women (UNAIDS, 2018).

Sex workers are among the vulnerable population. HIV contraction remains high due to consensual unprotected sex with their clients. They are also at a higher risk of being sexually abused through violence, thus being at a higher risk of getting the virus. Social stigma on these groups may hamper their health-seeking behaviors to get tested, disclose risk events, and fail to seek health care. Other vulnerable groups include men having sex with men, transgender, and gay people. They tend to have multiple sexual partners and the perception of being at low risk if they had unprotected sex. Stigmatization, due to their sexual choices, usually impair their seeking of HIV services.

Historical information related to WHY this is such a problem, and WHERE it exists as a problem

The origin of HIV/AIDS is believed to be from central Africa, and the epidemic started towards the late 1970s. And during the early 1980s, around 300000 individuals were thought to having the virus globally. By 1989, approximately 142000 HIV cases were reported from 145 countries, whereas the World Health Organization estimated a total of over 400000 individuals with the infection. UNAIDS provided statistics that about 30 million HIV cases existed worldwide in 1997, and in 1999, WHO declared AIDS the leading cause of death in Africa and the fourth leading cause of death globally. Around 14 million people had died from the virus by then (Avert, 2019). In the 21^st century, efforts by global health agencies, healthcare organizations, and governments got enhanced to increase awareness, provide grants, provide treatment alternatives such as antiretrovirals and prEp to reduce the epidemic. Despite the reduction in HIV cases, incidence rates remain high in developing countries.

four specific actions that nurses can take in managing the issue

Nurses, who are frontline healthcare providers in healthcare settings can:

1. increase awareness through educating the members in the society about HIV/AIDS. They can also engage in addressing myths and social and legal stigmatization associated with the virus, thereby increasing the tendency to seek HIV testing and care services.
2. Involve and participate in contact tracing, which an essential package in reducing HIV transmission. Such a measure is vital in the following up of HIV partners and their children for possible transfer, thus initiating prompt interventions where necessary.
3. Lobbying for programs intended to increase funds for HIV care. Nurse practitioners can engage legislators and the government in the allocation of adequate funds and resources to raise awareness and care for people living with HIV in society.
4. Active monitoring of treatment regimen adherence by those under antiretrovirals, the discordant partners, and those taking preexposure prophylaxis treatments. This approach is critical in enhancing care to those living with HIV/AIDS and ensuring no new cases are reported due to transmission.

References

Avert. (2019, October 10). History of HIV and AIDS overview. Retrieved March 13, 2020, from https://www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/overview#footnote77_82yn7aq

Psomas, C. K., Waters, L., Barber, T., Fidler, S., Macartney, M., Alagaratnam, J., … & Kinloch, S. (2019). Highlights of the 10th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science, 21–25 July 2019, Mexico City, Mexico. Journal of virus eradication, 5(4), 245.

UNAIDS. (2018). UNAIDS DATA, 2018. Geneva: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

UNAIDS. (2019). Global HIV & AIDS statistics – 2019 fact sheet. Retrieved March 13, 2020, from https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet