A lot has been said about helping Africa get over its HIV and AIDS crisis. There also have been some disagreements about the key perpertrators of this dreadful disease. After everything has been said, it still continues to kill millions of people and leaving behind some helpless orphans in Africa. Let me highlight two points on what I think should be done to curb this epidemic.

Reducing stigma and discrimination

HIV-related stigma and discrimination remains an enormous barrier to the fight against AIDS. Fear of discrimination often prevents people from getting tested, seeking treatment and admitting their HIV status publicly.
Since laws and policies alone cannot reverse the stigma that surrounds HIV infection, more and better AIDS education is needed in Africa to combat the ignorance that causes people to discriminate. The fear and prejudice that lies at the core of HIV/AIDS discrimination needs to be tackled at both community and national levels.

Helping women and girls

In many parts of Africa, as elsewhere in the world, the AIDS epidemic is aggravated by social and economic inequalities between men and women. Women and girls commonly face discrimination in terms of access to education, employment, credit, health care, land and inheritance.

These factors can all put women in a position where they are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection. In Sub-Saharan Africa, around 59% of those living with HIV are female.
In many African countries, sexual relationships are dominated by men, meaning that women cannot always practice safe sex even when they know the risks involved. They men make the final decision any where even in bed.

The way forward

Tackling the AIDS crisis in Africa is a long-term task that requires sustained effort and planning – both within African countries themselves and amongst the international community. One of the most important elements of the fight against AIDS is the prevention of new HIV infections. HIV prevention campaigns that have been successful within African countries need to be highlighted and repeated.

The other main challenge is providing treatment and care to those living with HIV in Africa, in particular ARVs, which can allow people living with HIV to live long and healthy lives. Many African countries have made significant progress in their treatment programmes in recent years including AIDS orphans in Africa and it is likely that the next few years will see many more people receiving the drugs

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