My name is Brett Jones and I am currently a senior in South Brunswick, New Jersey. Over the past several months I have done extensive research regarding HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan African nations and the information I have learned has been quite disturbing. 5.4 million individuals across the world became infected with HIV/AIDS in 1999. Of these 5.4 million, over 4 million are from Africa. That same year, 2.8 million died of AIDS and 85% of these deaths took place in Africa (AIDS Weekly Plus). The facts are truly disturbing and something needs to be done immediately to help these unaided Africans.
Is it right to let people die when their death could be stopped? Billion-dollar pharmaceutical manufacturers, such as your own, are faced with this question every day. Should they reduce the price of AIDS drugs, allowing many more Africans to be able to afford them? Or should they keep their prices high and only allow the wealthy to take advantage of these new medications? The AIDS epidemic brings up a controversial position for the pharmaceutical manufacturers around the world, as it has become known as the worst epidemic ever. .
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a severe disorder caused by the retrovirus HIV, resulting in a defect in "cell-mediated immune response," (www.thebody.com). This leaves the body vulnerable to opportunistic infections and to certain rare cancers, especially Kaposi Sarcoma. HIV is transmitted through blood, seamen, vaginal secretions and through a mother's breast milk. AIDS essentially wears down the immune system. Then, an infected person dies from common sicknesses that normally would be blocked by the immune system (www.thebody.com). Currently, approximately 34.3 million people have AIDS worldwide; 24.5 million of them are in sub-Saharan Africa. All together, about 19 million people have died from AIDS, while 3.8 million of them were under the age of 15. Furthermore, more than 500,000 babies infected in 1999 by their mothers; the majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa (AIDS Weekly Plus).