Download Brianna Westerman

Brianna Westerman
Democratic Republic of Congo
Greenfield High School
HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa
HIV/AIDS is a very serious disease spreading swiftly throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
HIV is a virus that infects and destroys cells in the immune system. From HIV comes
AIDS, which damages the immune system allowing infections, viruses and cancers to
take over. A majority of people with HIV live in this region. The Democratic Republic of
Congo is for HIV/AIDS education and prevention in sub-Saharan Africa.
Stated by WHO, World Health Organization, in December 2005, The Democratic
Republic of Congo was among the first African countries to design and implement a
program for HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention in the early 1980s. In 1987, the
government established the National AIDS Control Program to lead the fight against a
rapidly increasing epidemic. Although a political and civil crisis broke out in the mid1900s, progress may have been interrupted but wasn’t shut out completely. In 1999, a
National Strategic Plan for an integrated response to HIV/AIDS was created. This
included prevention, care and interventions to the conditions of antiretroviral therapy and
drugs to help treat infections. In 2002-2004, a National Health Sector Plan for HIV/AIDS
was also created. In 2003, civil hostilities went to an end and a transitional government
was established, getting the Democratic Republic of Congo back on track with preventing
and educating HIV/AIDS. Since June 2002, the Democratic Republic of Congo created a
joint public-private proposal by the government has trained health workers, strengthened
laboratory capacity and begun procuring generic antiretroviral drugs. In January 2005,
the Democratic Republic of Congo finalized its National Strategic Plan for Scaling Up
Access to Antiretroviral Therapy. This plan included strategies for training additional
health workers capable of distributing antiretroviral therapy, expanding prevention and
care facilities, strengthening the capacity of national laboratories and improving the
procurement and supply management systems for antiretroviral drugs.1
Although the Democratic Republic of Congo has had a few challenges, the fight to
prevent HIV/AIDS has never fully been stopped. This country has overcome these
obstacles, keeping the prevention and education of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa a
main priority.
1
http://www.who.int/hiv/HIVCP_COD.pdf