poverty
Most of the world’s inhabitants and peoples live in poverty. Why is this? Is it enough to blame it on those who are poor, saying that they’re irresponsible, lazy, and make poor decisions? Are the governments of their countries responsible for the situation? These and other things are undoubtedly real reasons for poverty. Yet deeper and more universal causes of poverty and inequality are less often discussed reasons.
Essays
poverty and AIDS
There is now conclusive evidence that HIV originated in Africa. A complex computer model of the evolution of HIV-1 has suggested that the first transfer of SIV to humans occurred around 1930. Experts studying the spread of the epidemic suggest that about 2,000 people in Africa may have been infected with HIV by the 1960s. It was in Kinshasa in the 1970s that the first epidemic of HIV/AIDS is believed to have occurred. The emerging epidemic in the Congolese capital was signaled by a surge in opportunistic infections, such as cryptococcal meningitis, Kaposi’s sarcoma, tuberculosis and specific forms of pneumonia. However, because these diseases are so common in sub-Saharan countries, and because of the weakness of the national health systems, the emergence of a new epidemic disease was not recognized.
1/2010
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