Is HIV/AIDS an international security threat?

To start with it should be said that AIDS is a thrown challenge for the whole humanity. In July 2002 the UNO published a report. According to the guess, in the nearest 20 years deaths by AIDS will touch 68 million persons. In the World War II the world lost 50 million people. So”¦ the difference is unbelievable. It describes the scales of the problem.

The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest problems, standings before our generation. AIDS is a new type of extraordinary situation in a global scale, unexampled threat for human development, for overcoming of which continuous, long-term work and adherence are required.

A crisis, caused by AIDS continues to deepen in Africa, while in Asia and Eastern Europe new epidemics overgrow with frightening speed. The FAO underlines:

“In its earlier stages, the HIV epidemic was predominantly

an urban problem, affecting more men than women, and those

with relatively higher incomes. Now the epidemic has

rapidly moved into the rural areas, hitting those who are

least equipped to deal with its consequences. Today, 95% of

people living with – and dying of – HIV and AIDS are in

developing countries. The overwhelming majority are the

rural poor, and among them women figure

disproportionately.”

So, nowadays not a single region in the world remains untouched. AIDS is the most “globalized” epidemic in the history, and today we see its growing «feminization». The number of women, infected HIV grows annually. In the whole world about a half of all infected people in age of 15-49 years are female representatives. In Africa their part reaches 60%. Women living with HIV or AIDS are frequently exposed to more severe stigma and discrimination because of the gender inequality.

Good news are those which prove that the number of governments, financial organizations and partners, participating in counteraction to AIDS increases considerably, there is an urgent necessity of expansion of support to the sufferings countries and collaboration with them. There is also a necessity to avoid duplication and dispersion of resources. One more positive fact is that the world acknowledges the necessity of expansion of access to antiretroviral treatment for all the people, infected HIV, regardless of what countries they live in. Treatment must be fixed in a basis of all complex strategies of fight against AIDS. However prophylaxis is not less important and we must always aim to do everything that is in our forces for the prevention of new cases of infecting.

Influence of HIV/AIDS epidemic on national safety

HIV/AIDS is an evident example that health and safety has become interdependent. As it is cited in the International Crisis Group:

“AIDS is a personal security issue”¦ AIDS is an economic

security issue”¦ AIDS is a communal security issue”¦ AIDS is a national security issue”¦ AIDS is an international security issue.”

So, it means that HIV/AIDS threatens the stability of the whole world, of all its composing parts. Unlike many other illnesses AIDS strikes the most productive members of society.

A lot of countries intend resolutely and firmly to provide the national safety. In the conception of national safety among basic tasks in the area of national safety some basic conditions must be mentioned:

• timely prognostication and exposure of external and internal threats of national safety;
• realization of operative and long-term measures on warning and neutralization of internal and external threats;
• the development of countries’ economies, conducting of independent and socially oriented economic course;
• providing of the personal safety of any citizen, his constitutional rights and freedoms;
• perfection of the system socio-political stability of society;
• providing of equal in rights and mutually beneficial collaboration of any country with the leading states of the world and many others.

Here are the main conditions that must be followed in the country to provide the national safety.

The epidemic of HIV/AIDS influences negatively all spheres of national safety of the country, economy, structures of state administration, military powers and social structures. The connection between existent threats and the development of epidemic results in their mutual strengthening.

The evidence of the problem

Acknowledging the consequences of HIV/AIDS for the safety of humanity, in 2000 the Security of UNO Council included a “medical” problem in an order-paper for the first time in the history. The attention was paid to the potential threat which is presented by an epidemic for the international safety, especially in the conditions of soldiery conflicts and peacemaking operations, specifying that it is necessary to examine AIDS as a crisis of safety, presenting a potential threat for people, states and international association comparable with a large war.

The Influence of HIV/AIDS on the defense of the country

The epidemic of HIV/AIDS together with the growth of alcohol and narcotics, acquired the character of the real threat for the physical health of nation, including servicemen that provide the defensive of country. The PLoS Medicine reads as follows:

“Three main arguments linking HIV/ AIDS and national

security emerge from the security community’s analyses of

the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The first describes the impact of

HIV/AIDS on individuals critical to the maintenance of

state and international security: soldiers and

peacekeepers. The second argument suggests that the

epidemic in some sub-Saharan African nations may cause

state instability and failure. The third argument focuses

on the security effects of the worsening pandemic on the

large, strategically important states of Russia, India, and

China.”

People of power structures are a group with the high degree of vulnerability for infections that is mainly conditioned by the features of their work, mobility, age and other factors. At the same time power structures, possessing traditions of good organization and discipline, are a bridgehead for the counteraction distribution of HIV/AIDS.

Russia and the neighboring countries became the new epicenter of global pandemic of HIV/AIDS, having the highest rates of distribution of infection in the world. So, on the 30-th of September 2005 318794 cases of HIV infections were documentarily fixed in Russia, and the real amount, according to the data of the independent Russian and international experts, is estimated in 800000-1500000 (I.e. this number is more than 2% of adult population of the country). Epidemiologists warn that by the year 2010 this number can reach 8 million people – more than 10% of adult population of the country. Russia became one of three of leaders on the rates of HIV infection.

The epidemic of HIV/Aids has a row of characteristic features.

• The prevailing way of infection is the intravenous injections of drugs (68,3% of registered cases in 2004).
•  The explosive character of epidemic development presently.
• The predominance of one genetic subtype of HIV (more than 80% are infected by the virus subtype A).
• The distribution of HIV infection coincides with growth of other diseases, transmissible by a sexual way, especially syphilis, hepatitis B and C.

People are especially subjected to the risk of infecting in age rate from 15 to 49 years. Similar facts can be given more and more, but one thing is clear that the problem of HIV infection/AIDS has become one of the key problems of population’s safety and survival in the world. Losses from AIDS, including dead and incurable patients exceeds the losses in World War II.

Conclusion

What should be done for the prevention of HIV spread?

The scale and the consequences of HIV epidemic excel even the most pessimistic prognoses and require the immediate operating of legislative power and creation of the special commission. Its decision is necessary to be examined in three aspects.

The FIRST ASPECT is an aspect of national safety. It is necessary to break the attitude toward this problem in a legislative form. Otherwise any country will lose hundreds of thousands of young citizens and as a result children whom they would give birth. Antiretroviral therapy allows a man to live enough long, not having the expressed signs of illness. In many countries treatment is once or twice cheaper, and in some countries a necessary sum contains only 200-300 dollar s per year. The point is that, preparations for HIV treatment were developed by large pharmaceutical companies, and prices on their original products are high enough. Therefore the production of so-called “doubles” (more cheap copies of these medications) is organized abroad.

The SECOND ASPECT is an economic aspect. On the prognosis of UNO, there will be serious economic problems from the epidemic of AIDS in many countries by the year 2020. It means that gross domestic product will double, while the amount of products will decrease. From the one side, HIV infection will shorten the absolute quantity of workers and from the other ”“ it will result in the decline of labor productivity of the infected workers. With no prophylactic measures uncontrolled distribution of AIDS will undermine not only the rates of the economy growing but also the investments.

The THIRD ASPECT is a demographic aspect. As the basic part of HIV infected population are young people, they are not only the main productive body of society but also its genital part. In addition a situation is complicated by three factors. Firstly, the population goes down (unlike Africa, where even taking into account an epidemic a population grows). Secondly, some countries have fewer resources to help patients, than the developed countries.

Thirdly, there is not the system, allowing all the people to get cheap antiretroviral medications, while Brazil and other countries managed to agree with pharmaceutical companies about supplying with cheap medications. The consequence of high death rate from AIDS will be the decline of birth-rate, qualities of labor, level of education and the reduction of number of skilled specialists and most serious problem of children-orphans.

It should be noted that an effective fight against the epidemic of HIV-AIDS is discomforted in connection with absence of single policy on political levels of all countries. There is not single informative space. The difference of approaches to the prophylaxis of state and noncommercial organizations results in that young people get not always exact, and sometimes contradictory information. Nowadays the meaningfulness of prophylaxis of HIV/AIDS is underestimated by adults working with young people.

At present time there is no systematic and standardized account of projects and programs in area of HIV/AIDS prophylaxis. Moreover, there is no connection between the results of different programs and projects, which would provide an exchange of ideas, transmission of knowledge and their unimpeded advancement in practice of all educational establishments. The programs and projects are frequently duplicated, that results in the ineffective use of resources on different levels. Moreover, the programs and projects of this orientation can conflict with each other and not coincide with general conception, accepted at the level of national policy.

That is why it is necessary to organize systematic work on the creation of single informative space, facilitating co-ordination of efforts of all the interested parts, organizations and specialists, realizing the programs of fight against HIV/AIDS. Organization and conducting of seminars, conferences on strengthening of initiatives in the field of safety of nation are needed in an order to extend participating of politicians in effective counteraction:

• development and strengthening of single strategy in the area of prophylaxis and counteraction an epidemic;
• stimulations of scientific developments in an area HIV/AIDS;
• strengthening of legislative base, necessary for providing of effective measures in the area of HIV/AIDS;
• improvement of people’s life, infected HIV/AIDS, through the development of correct policy in the area of treatment, care and support;
• decline of stigma, related to HIV/AIDS, and providing of defense right and civil liberties of people living with HIV;
• strengthening of international cooperation in area of therapy, treatment and development of vaccine.

It is clear that partnership of politicians and public leaders is needed for the realization of the above-stated aims. No doubt, that some more conditions are also necessary for the successful decision of problem. They are the creation of interdepartmental vaccine center; financing of medical HIV/AIDS program; the systematic informing of public about the real results of the development of vaccine in all the countries of world.

But what should be done for the prevention of AIDS pandemic and what was already done? According to some data some countries spared billions of dollars for the creation of necessary medical preparations. Brazil passed acts on the intellectual property on the grounds of entry in WTO, they produced genetic preparation against AIDS. Therefore now a death rate in Brazil from AIDS was reduced twice. International Crisis Group adds some new facts:

“Countries such as Uganda, Senegal, Thailand have succeeded

in slowing and even reversing the rate of infection,

keeping AIDS’ consequences at far lower levels than

neighboring countries. They have accomplished this through

extensive education and prevention programs; by providing

care and support; and above all by mobilizing national

political leadership to stress that AIDS presents a

challenge to the nation going far beyond its health

dimensions.”

So it means that AIDS distribution, its pandemic sense can be changed. And international al in all global threat can be extirpated. But presently our future is in the hands of our government.