Proposal

=**__Table of Contents http://www.avert.org/media/images/USASumMenWomenGraph.gif__**= PROBLEM: Aids (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is a life threatening disease that attacks the infected persons immune system. The disease itself doesn't kill you but once your immune system shuts down, infections that wouldn't even come up in a healthy person can cause serious symptoms and death, these infections are called opportunistic infections. However these drugs are expensive and people that are underprivileged especially in Africa and Asia can't afford it and as a result go untreated and die. AIDS is actually the final stage of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) it is the stage when the symptoms appear. HIV is transmitted via bodily fluids, so you can get it by sharing needles, getting blood from an infected person,from mother to child if the mother has it while pregnant, or even from having unprotected sex. The lifespan of a person with HIV is about 9-11 from when they contract the virus. As new treatments are developed the virus evolves and adapts to the treatment until it is no longer effective, so new treatments need to be made constantly.
 * [[file:Obama letter.doc]][[image:aids1picture.jpg width="194" height="246" align="right"]]

REASON: This disease has killed 25 million people worldwide since its first breakout. 40 million people are currently living with either HIV or AIDS, 22 million of which live in Africa where they are going untreated. 1.5 million people have already died here from this disease.

THE SOLUTION There is no cure to AIDS but there are many treatments that can manage the symptoms. The Pharmaceutical companies have the ability to send them to Africa where they can be used but that would affect there profit margins so they don't. So we are proposing to help the organizations which help the infected people get the treatment that they need. BENEFITS 40 million lives will be saved by the solution.

=__AIDS in General__=

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// HIV is // a killer virus that attacks the immune system. HIV uses healthy white blood cells to replicate itself, breaking down the immune system and leaving the body more vulnerable to illness. HIV is transmitted via bodily fluids, so you can get it by sharing needles, getting blood from an infected person, from mother to child if the mother has it while pregnant, or even from having unprotected sex. The lifespan of a person with HIV is about 9-11 years from when they contract the virus ======

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// AIDS // is a late stage of HIV infection. An HIV positive person is diagnosed with AIDS when their immune system is so weakened that it is no longer able to fight off illness. AIDS attacks infected people’s immune system. The disease itself doesn't kill you but once your immune system shuts down, infections that wouldn't even come up in a healthy person can cause serious symptoms and death; these infections are called opportunistic infections. ======

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There is no known cure for AIDS/HIV, however there are drugs that can help reduce the symptoms and lengthen the dormancy of HIV. A major issue with these drugs is that they are expensive and people that are underprivileged especially in Africa and Asia can't afford it and as a result go untreated and die. As new treatments are developed the virus evolves and adapts to the treatment until it is no longer effective, so new treatments need to be made constantly. ======

=__**AIDS in Africa**__=

[] The African continent is the one that is most heavily affected by AIDS and HIV. An estimated 22 million people are living with HIV in that region, which sums up to be around two thirds of the total world population. In 2007, approximately 1.5 million native Africans died from AIDS and 1.9 million people became infected with HIV. Because of the lack of knowledge for prevention and treatment that there is in Africa, the AIDS death tolls are expected to grow higher and higher as the years go on, unless something is done. The presence of the deadly virus in Africa will be most felt in the upcoming ten years and beyond. It has threatened millions of lives and already its consequences socially and economically are being felt. Education is scarce, transport is difficult to find and whole communities are being terrorized with thoughts of their whole population dying. AIDS has had a massive effect on life expectancy in Africa. The previous progress in life expectancy is being erased by the powerful virus that is killing everybody at a mad rate. Millions of young adults are dying much before their time because they have contracted either HIV or AIDS. Average life expectancy in Africa is now forty-seven years old, when it could be sixty-two without AIDS. In most parts of Africa it is the man who dominates any sexual relationship with a woman or girl. So even if that woman is fully aware of the risks, she may not have the liberty to practice safe sex. A mircobicide is currently being produced to allow women a fairer chance at not contracting AIDS. However, for a woman to willingly use it, they would have to have a certain awareness of the dangers of AIDS. A greater emphasis needs to be placed on educating women and girls about the virus.