Health & Wellbeing in S Africa essays

Health & Wellbeing in S Africa essays There are many issues concerning the health and well-being of South Africans. Two major problems are poverty and HIV/AIDS. These create problems as well such as lack of housing, spread of diseases, and high infant mortality rates. The infant mortality rate in South Africa was estimated to be sixty-four deaths per one thousand live births in 2003. (CIA 2003) One cause of the high infant mortality rate is malnutrition. In a country where about half of the population lives below the poverty line it is hard for pregnant mothers to get the proper nutrition to have a healthy baby. Even after birth, many mothers cannot afford to feed their babies and the babies die of starvation. The government implemented a program to try to give nutritional aid to mothers and their infants. However, the government only spends about 14% of their GDP on healthcare; this is not nearly enough. (Kesselman, et al. 2004) Another major cause of the infant mortality rate is HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS is the number one killer in South Africa. About 5.3 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. A survey conducted by the South African Department of Health in 2002 said that 34% of prenatal mothers were infected with HIV/AIDS and it is estimated that 91,271 babies were born infected from their mothers. These babies were born without a chance. To fight HIV/AIDS in South Africa, the government is trying to educate the people on the disease. They are also running a test trial for an HIV vaccine. They will be monitoring healthy, HIV-negative individuals for a period of twelve months to make sure that there are no significant side effects. In about eight to ten years, if the vaccine works, it will be registered for use. (Department of Health: AIDS/HIV Main Page 2003) However, South Africa cannot wait that long. They have a serious problem with HIV/AIDS that is killing off a large portion of their population. They need to find a solution n...