Is poverty the leading promoter of the violent spread of HIV/AIDS throughout the world today? As of the writing of this essay, HIV/AIDS affects all areas of the world and developing countries report extremely high mortality rates due to HIV/AIDS. AIDS is now second only to the Bubonic Plague in the middle ages as the largest health threat in history. Poverty affects all aspects of lifestyle including access to medical care, food, housing and sanitation. Poverty and its effects are the leading promoters of the spread of HIV/AIDS in the world today.
The opposition to this theory has long held that behavioral factors, sexual practices and IV drug usage are the main factors in promoting the disease. AIDS can be contracted several different ways such as the use of intravenous drugs, prostitution, and transmission by people who are unaware that they have HIV/AIDS.
How than can we explain the existence of high mortality rates from HIV/AIDS in extremely poor areas of our country and in the world? The answer is poverty and its effects. There is a high correlation between intravenous drug use, which is very common in poverty-stricken areas, and the contraction of HIV. (Tomaszewski 2003). Studies have also shown that there is a direct connection between poverty and drug use. Sharing needles greatly increases the probability of contracting AIDS. This can be greatly reduced by programs issuing sterile needles to drug users although it is controversial in executing the program. Poverty is the major cause of HIV/AIDS infection because it can facilitate transmission; Poverty makes people more vulnerable to HIV infection, due to lack of health care knowledge, lack of proper digestion, and lack of good nutrition, that results in a weaker system of immunity and poor health. They also do not have access to healthcare and education on HIV prevention. According to International Viewpoint, “With over 1.5 million deaths officially estimated in the last 12 months, AIDS is overtaking and interacting with other mass killers. In mid 1996 the United Nations estimated that 28 million people had contracted HIV infection world-wide, of whom 6 million had already died. 94% of people with HIV are in Third World countries. Of the 22 million adults now living with HIV, 42% are women, a percentage that is steadily rising.” (Davis 1997).
Belle Glade, Florida
Research shows that certain areas and populations are more prone to contracting this deadly virus. AIDS is an immense problem in low-income areas in America and will continue to be so because of intravenous drug use, prostitution, children being infected by their mothers, and unknown transmission of the disease. This is where a small town called Belle Glade, Florida enters the picture. Belle Glade is some fifty miles due west of Palm Beach and is almost entirely inhabited by migrant workers. Some of these workers are Hispanic, but most are Haitian with some African- American population. The peculiar thing about Belle Glade as reported in the New York Times in 2003 is that this small town has per capita the largest number of HIV/AIDS positive people in the United States. The national average is 356 out of one million populations, whereas the average for Belle Glade is 1500 per one million. (Nordheimer). This is a staggering number and none of the usual arguments for transmission such as homosexual activity are present in large numbers. Most of the HIV/Positive patients in Belle Glade are heterosexual. The common thread that makes Belle Glade unique is that it is also one of the poorest cities in the United States. “When you live in a small impoverished area like Belle Glade one of the main recreational activities is sex, and what we're seeing is a number of men who are clearly heterosexual telling us of multiple contacts with prostitutes.''(Nordheimer 1997). Clearly the infiltration of prostitution into small areas such as Belle Glade would increase the rate. The reason for this being the trade of choice in this area is poverty, making a direct link between poverty and HIV transmission.
Conclusions
It is easy to see how living in poverty and battling HIV/AIDS can be a nightmare for some people. A single mother of three children in the inner city near a high crime area will be more at risk for this disease than a successful businessman from any developed country. Where is her healthcare to come from? Where can she learn about disease prevention? Where will the money come from to take care of her children? Often as reported by International Viewpoint, women such as these are forced to enter the sex trade or become involved in drugs to support their families. (Tomaszewski 2003). It is sad to think that children are affected by poverty. The New York Times points out in the article “Poverty Scarred Town Now Stricken By AIDS”, in addition to adults being HIV positive in large numbers unfortunately children are also stricken with the disease as they play among “the hovels, sewage and garbage.” (Nordheimer).
There have been some good results that have come from recent studies concerning HIV and poverty. The World Bank has proposed a four hundred billion dollar relief fund supported by the United Nations and funded by donations and government intervention. This will help alleviate some of the suffering due to poor medical care, malnutrition and recurrent infections. We as a society cannot begin to address the issue of fighting HIV/AIDS unless we are willing to accept the actual causation factor of the disease, which is poverty.
Davis, Ken. “Prejudice, Poverty and AIDS.” International Viewpoint .April 1997. 5pp.
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Nordheimer, Jon. “Poverty- Scarred Town Now Stricken By AIDS.” The New York
Times . 10 Feb, 2009 <>
Tomaszewski, Evelyn P. “HIV/AIDS and Homelessness” Poverty and Social Justice
Update . June 2003
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