Global HIV/AIDS: Social aspect of HIV AIDS through fiscal aspects

My research will focus primarily on the social aspect of the HIV AIDS epidemic through the lens of the fiscal aspect both domestically and internationally.

My quest began with a keen observation: unlike other diseases with large donor bases, such as cancer and cerebral palsy, HIV AIDS has a clear purpose when it comes to fundraising. Each donor can see exactly where their money goes: $128 for a year’s worth of HIV AIDS battling drugs for an adult, $60 for children, and just $4 to prevent mother to child transmission. Other charitable research donations are far more ambiguous: $300 for a syringe, millions of dollars on experimental drug development, unknown durations for chemotherapy and on and on.

But with such clear, decisive goals, why has it been so hard to raise such funds? In essence, with an estimated 33 million people worldwide infected with HIV, and the infections affecting a wide range of people at home and abroad, why can’t we spend 132 million dollars (33 million times $4 in mother to child transmission drugs) to effectively stop the infection in one generation? What prevents us from doing this?

My research will delve into two aspects of this enigma: social stigma and responses and pharmaceutical companies involvement.

With issues, especially prevalent in our very own country, regarding social stigma about HIV AIDS, what can we do to better educate the American public? Are social stigmas surrounding HIV AIDS actually delaying the eradication of the disease? For example, when mothers continue to breastfeed for fear of social shunning, does that prolong the spread of the illness?

Are pharmaceutical companies as greedy as they’re described or is it really distribution costs, added education costs, and other unknown variables that make HIV AIDS medication more expensive for Africa rather than Europe and North America? Is the argument that other African societal problems like telling time and nutrition are the cause of skepticism among pharmaceutical companies true?

My research will hope to answer some of these questions in a more factual and anecdotal discussion of the social aspects of HIV AIDS.

Sources used:

· http://www.avert.org/worldstats.htm

· http://www.marketwatch.com/story/most-pharmaceutical-companies-receive-poor-grades-on-hivaids-drug-development-innovation-according-to-aids-treatment-activist-coalition-report-card-2009-09-10

· http://www.globalissues.org/article/53/pharmaceutical-corporations-and-aids

· http://www.radioproject.org/archive/2001/2401.html

· http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/jun1999/aids-j05.shtml

· http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/HTML/aids.html

· http://www.avert.org/aidsstigma.htm

· http://hab.hrsa.gov/publications/stigma/introduction.htm

· http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/Perry/aids.html

· http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102273832.html