Rivetti 1

Anthony Rivetti
Mr. Fronk
Honors World Regional Geography
9/26/15
Ending HIV in Africa
Section 1
Very recently, it was announced that a $300 million U.S. program will be activated, with
the goal of drastically reducing the number of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infections
in young women who live in Africa today. This program is set to reduce the number of infections
in adolescent girls and young women by 25 percent before the end of next year, and by 40
percent by the end of 2017. It will be targeted at the ten sub-Saharan countries that are hit hardest
by the HIV disease Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania,
Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
This project is the next phase in the U.S. Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or
PEPFAR, which is a program geared toward stopping AIDS, the biggest killer in Africa. AIDS is
a disease that results from the HIV virus, which is why it is so important to stop the spread of
HIV. Stopping this spread is a process officials say starts with targeting the disease in young
women, hence the release of this program. National Security Advisor Susan Rice even says, No
greater action is needed right now than empowering adolescent girls and young women to defeat
HIV/AIDS, and based on the facts, it seems Rice is correct. According to the Obama
Administration, 380,000 adolescent girls and young women are infected with HIV each year.

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That is more than one thousand every day! It is clear that action needs to be taken, and that is
why the government has released this program.
Section 2
This current event relates to our geography class in a few ways. First, and most
obviously, this event involves the same geographic area that has been discussed in class for the
past monthAfrica. Also, of the countries being treated for HIV Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi,
Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe we spoke
about four during class in some detail (Pace, n.p.). Three of these were relatively brief, when we
talked about how, The regions vast wildlife parks in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania are world
famous, but the fourth, we discussed in great detail South Africa. We spoke about the
apartheid in South Africa, South Africas current state, as well as Nelson Mandela.
The other way that this event relates to class is the topic of HIV and AIDS. The main
focus of the program described above is to stop the spread of HIV in Africa (Pace, n.p.). We
talked about HIV a few times in class, and there were many discussions regarding AIDS, a
disease caused by HIV. We learned that, in 2008, 22.4 million people in Africa were living with
HIV or AIDS. Pace gives another fact about HIV in her article, stating that, 380,000 adolescent
girls and young women are infected with HIV every year more than 1,000 every day. (Pace,
n.p.). These facts show how big of a problem AIDS is.
In conclusion, this current event relates to what we have learned in class in two ways
the geographic position of the events taking place is the same as those we have learned about,
and the disease that is discussed and going to be treated was discussed in great detail during
class.

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Section 3
I believe that this project that is being started in Africa is a step in the right direction. I
also believe that this help is long overdue in Africa. The economy is struggling and hundreds of
thousands of Africans are affected by diseases without a cure accessible, so it was about time that
someone stepped in for the struggling continent. I truly believe that this step is a great one, and it
could lead to the complete eradication of AIDS and HIV from Africa one day.
When reading the article, I was completely shocked to discover that over 1,000 young
women are infected with HIV every day. I couldnt believe that the world had not already been
doing everything in its power to stop this pandemic in Africa. However, I was also surprised by
the amount of money that the United States was allocating for this project. It seemed to me that
$300 million was an awful lot of money when we as a country are in so much debt. These two
things surprised me about the article and our governments plan.
Although I am surprised by the lack of global help prior to this project and the amount of
money spent, I do believe that this is a step in the right direction. I think that this could be the
start of the end of HIV and AIDS in Africa and in the world.

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Work Cited
Pace, Julie. US Aims to Cut HIV Infections in Young Women in Africa. YAHOO! News. N.p.,
26 September 2015. Web. 26 Sept. 2015<http://news.yahoo.com/us-aims-cut-hivinfections-young-women-africa-100228751--politics.html>