by Emmalee Bolton

Created on: June 02, 2009

Experiencing the feeling of being under the weather is not the greatest sensation in the world, but taking a simple medicine like Tylenol may help or reduce a minor sickness. Tylenol seems like an easy fix when one is sick; however, a pill or two is not the cure, or even close to the fix, needed to alleviate one of the most devastating diseases facing our world. The epidemic called acquired immune deficiency syndrome, better known as AIDS, is facing millions of people worldwide, and a treatment has not been produced to cure this sickness. This overwhelming virus is the result of an infection named HIV, which stands for human immunodeficiency virus. AIDS claims approximately one third of Africa's population, and the high cost of AIDS drugs only creates for a larger problem.

AIDS first made its debut in 1959 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and it arrived in 1981 in the United States, where it was viewed as a gay or homosexual disease. The HIV virus's mutation rate affected the development of a vaccine, and in 1995 a cocktail (a combination of antiretroviral drugs and a protease inhibitor) was made available. According to the U.S. Bureau, as of April 3, 2009, the world population was at 6,770,946,993 people. An estimated number of 33 million represents the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in 2007, since the year of 1981, roughly 25 million have died from the virus. This information shows that the AIDS virus is an epidemic, and it is reaching enormous numbers. The HIV/AIDS virus does not discriminate against any age, gender, race, religion, or sexual preference. Even young, innocent children and babies are infected each year with the virus and the numbers are not reducing. In an article titled Providing AIDS drug treatment for millions, author Rob Noble tells that for a long time, the main focus on Africa consisted of providing the continent (and its villages) with a steady supply of food and water. This information demonstrates that disease was not a top concern to those helping low-income countries until recently. Due to Africa's lack of a well-organized infrastructure of medical buildings, hospitals, and roads, the fight against AIDS and other diseases increases. Africa's villages lack clean water, roads, clinics, and electricity, which places a major strain on the assistance needed to help those infected with the AIDS virus. Although the HIV virus has much responsibility for the AIDS epidemic, poverty also plays a

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