South Africa HIV

The country of South Africa has gained notoriety mostly due to its racially segregated past that defined the country for a century. Today, we give recognition to this country for overcoming apartheid in a place dramatically overwhelmed by racism and hatred. We commend South Africa for taking the right steps on the path of humanity, justice, and other aspects of the modern world. Yet, South Africa is unable to dissociate itself from the primitive behavior that is eroding its stability slowly but surely. In 2005, it was found that 31 % of all pregnant women were infected with HIV, while another 20 % of adults contracted the same disease. Meanwhile, South Africa's leaders only inflamed the issue by denying the presence of HIV in order to avoid addressing such a viral problem. The disease is rooted in South Africa's most prominent social issues, mainly poverty and urban development. HIV has caused the displacement of roughly 1.2 million children, while wiping out many families' main source for economic stability in the household, thus providing a deeper hole of poverty. It also boasts the world's second highest murder rate, mostly on account of rampant poverty in the urban townships that surround South Africa's largest cities. The crime has caused a trend of suburban migration from the cities, abandoning central business districts and industrial jobs. However, what is most frightening is that South Africa is considered Africa's most progressive country.