The African STD Crisis

Katelyn Moussavian

Period 2

March 7th, 2017

The African STD Crisis

Sexually transmitted diseases, most commonly referred to as STD’s, are some of the most dangerous and easily spread illnesses in the world. About 24.7 million people in Africa are infected with HIV alone (Avert). This means that 24 million people may be facing death as a consequence for having unprotected sex. If people had enough sexual education to understand how easy it is to spread this virus, the number of infected people would be lower.  Also, condoms would help slow the spread of STD’s.

Kids sometimes struggle to ask an adult for help when it comes to anything sexually related. One way to work on this problem is to make sure sexual education programs are being taught correctly in order to make people aware of how serious STD's are and how they can avoid getting them. STD’s have a big impact in places of poverty and they largely affect those who are not very educated and groups such as prostitutes. This is a very serious topic that needs to be discussed in every school across the continent.  STD’s can be deadly and are transmitted from person to person if they do not know that they are infected with them.

Condom distribution is key to helping reduce the spread of STD’s.  “While external funds account for two-thirds of HIV spending in sub-Saharan Africa, two-thirds of general health care expenditure is sourced from domestic governments” (Avert). This quote shows that African governments continue to need outside help on this difficult problem.  Slowing the spread of STD’s is simple: the government must donate condoms to those in need and make health classes available for the people so they know how deadly and dangerous this topic is. Due to the numerous laws against prostitution, it is incredibly difficult for prostitutes to get check ups especially when they need it most (The New Age). They all need to be taken care of no matter the circumstances.  HPV and HIV are similar, and one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of STD’s is condom use. So why do the countries not distribute more of them to those in need?  

In our community and country, condoms and other birth control methods are easy to access, but in places like South Africa not everyone has access to easy protection or a good sexual education. African leaders need to open their eyes and realize that 790,000 of their people have already died in the last year from STD’s (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION).  What are they changing to make sure this number decreases in the future?

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Anonymous. “Health Disparities in HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and TB.” Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, June 2017, Accessed June 2017.

Anonymous. “HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Overview.” Avert.org, Avert.org, 2016, Accessed June 2017.

Anonymous. “Number of Deaths Due to HIV/AIDS.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, Aug. 2017, Accessed Aug. 2017.

Anonymous. “Types of STD Common in Africa – Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa.” Afya Njema, Afya Njema, Aug. 2017, Accessed Aug. 2017.

Anonymous. “Worrying Spike in Sexually Transmitted Diseases.” The New Age, The New Age, Dec. 2016, Accessed June 2017.