The Basis for Public Health - Essay Example

There is an estimated 16 million orphans. Aids has marched across the US killing more people than all the wars put together including World War II. This paper will discuss efforts to control this epidemic as well as other public health issues. Aids was first identified in the United States in 1981. It is now in all sections of society. More than 1 million people are living with aids in the US and more than 1/2 million have died. Statistics show that 44% are African American, 35% are white, and 19% are Latino.

Men make up 75% of adults and adolescents. There are an estimated 3,792 children under the age of 13 who have AIDS. The majority of them acquired HIV from their mothers. There has begun to be a dramatic drop in the numbers of deaths and infections with combination antiretroviral therapy being used more widespread. Accurate surveillance does not take place in the US and the CDC recommends that the US find a way to do a better job of this. Therefore many of the statistics mentioned may be higher.

There is also a delay in the diagnosis and the actual reporting of the disease causing a delay in treatment in this country (cdc.org) Nurses in Zambia have been working together with Norwegian nurses to create a program which includes workplace facilitators that assist with HIV/AIDS training. These facilitators help the nurses get the information out faster and to more patients and families (Jefferson, 2006). The ZNA is also partnering with the Ministry of Health to help prevent aids transfer from mother to infants.

They have worked with Boehringer-Ingelheim to help provide free testing to pregnant nurses and other health workers to prevent the transmission of aids to their babies. The program is working well enough that they will be expanding this program to include healthcare workers families (Oulton, 2004). The nurses in this country contract the virus often but if they are treated, they can continue to treat the public and protect their children. Switzerland had a controversial program which they have been very successful with.

Their belief was that they needed to increase condom use in the country, reduce discrimination for those that have the virus and address injectible drug abuse problems. They provided condoms for free and gave syringes to those that brought a dirty one to trade. They have been very successful in reducing the numbers of new aids cases in their country (Jefferson, 2006). The Global Aids Alliance attempts to attack the link to social justice and poverty as well as gender equality. Their goals have been to treat the people, educate the people and protect the children.

They hope to get antivirals to as many people as possible. Education is key but the virus is moving so fast that they must treat as many as possible to try to stop it. Here in the United States, there are many attempts at decreasing the numbers of infected and treating those that are. The Walk for AIDs campaign was very successful this year providing research money. Some cities such as San Francisco provide syringes and condoms in their attempt to reduce the numbers of aids cases locally. Poverty and homelessness in the United States is often part of this epidemic as well as so many others.

One method of diagnosis and treatment might be a mobile clinic in the largest homeless areas in each city. Testing as well as treatment could be