Reduced Spread Of Hiv / Aids - 1179 Words

Reduced Spread of HIV/AIDS in Zambia MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases Camryn Wong IB Geography October 24, 2015 Word Count: The United Nation created eight Millennium Development Goals to reduce the increasing disparities between the developing and developed worlds. The sixth goal focuses on the combat of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Zambia is a prime example of how this goal was achieved. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia that started in the mid-1980s has since stabilized (HIV AIDS). There have been large efforts made to reduce the number of new HIV infections each year and educate those at the age of most risk on how to avoid these diseases. Improvements in health and knowledge have†¦show more content†¦The government showed strong commitment to addressing its health resources for health challenges and has seen progress since their push for improvement. There are four indicators which provide evidence that this target was met. Immense progress has occurred in combating HIV/AIDS in Zambia and these indicators were used to monitor that progress. The first indicator was HIV prevalence among the population aged 15-24 years old. The goal for this indicator was to reach 15.6% or lower by 2015. Zambia had already reached the target by 2002 and by 2007 had exceeded it with 14.3% (Millennium Development Goals). These statistics show that the percent of HIV incidences in Zambia were decreasing and surpassed its goal only two years into its 15 year timeline. HIV incidences have stabilized in Zambia but the absolute number of new infections is actually rising due to population growth. Although the Zambia’s national MDG target has been met, this does not show the disparities within the country in HIV prevalence rates amongst provinces. Lusaka and Copperbelt are the densest provinces and also had the highest HIV prevalence, over 20% in 200 7. This shows that HIV can spread more easily through dense places like cities. There was an increase of new HIV infections from 1998 to 2002 that could have been caused by a range of factors such as lack of awareness and use of services, low use of condoms, or low rates of male