HIV/ AIDS have had a devastating effect on Africa especially on Sub-Saharan Africa."Everyone is either infected or affected." (Chanda’s Secrets. 192). HIV/AIDS is a sickness that causes harm to everyone. It can cause biological damage to the person who has it. It also causes emotional damage and financial problem to the same person and to everyone around the sick person. The disease infects the sick person's body. The stigma of the disease affects everyone.
In Chanda's Secret, people are afraid of HIV/AIDS. They were so scared, even the word is forbidden word. They say "that other thing" instead of AIDS. Everyone around her started to die suddenly because they were infected by AIDS. Her step-father Jonah, best friend Esther’s parents, Mrs. Tafa’s son and Chanda’s youngest sister Sara, she was very affected by her younger sister’s death as they were very poor so they couldn’t afford money for the coffin of Sara. When Esther’s parent died, Esther and her younger siblings were affected by the death of their parents as they were very poor. So Esther and her sibling had to separate away from each other. And the only way Esther could made money was to become a prostitute. Mrs. Tafa says that her son Emmanuel died from a hunting accident but at the end she admitted that her son died from stigma as his test come out positive. So he could not handle it so he had to shot himself. Mrs. Tafa lied about her son ; death to hide from the shame and disrespect to her family.
The stigma of the disease keeps everyone silent. "Taking the test is scary. But living with the disease is worse." (145). People were afraid of knowing the truth. They prefer to live in fear than to know the truth. The stigma has taken all the courage from the people. People such as Esther and Lillian do not want to ask for help. They have several reasons to keep their sickness in secret. First of all, they were afraid that when people know they talk about them. “She has the disease, God's curse.". People think getting HIV is a punishment from God of having too much sex. Their family, neighbors and friend look down on them. They think that person is sleeping with anyone. They think they are dirty or impure. Second, their family thinks that person dishonors their family and ancestor. They think the person is a shame for the family. The family won't recognize the person as a member of the family. And the last one, they think telling the truth, people around them won't love him/her anymore. They leave the person alone. All these factors make them live in the shadow and with stigma.
Every day technology improves and new inventions are discovered. Maybe in the future they might find a cure to fight against AIDS. So that people can live without stigma and fear and get hope that they can be cure from AIDS.
Elvin Renghen
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The human immune system disorder now known as AIDS was first identified in the United States in 1981. A number of gay men in New York and California suddenly began to develop rare opportunistic infections and cancers that seemed stubbornly resistant to any treatment. At this time, AIDS did not yet have a name, but it quickly became obvious that all the men were suffering from a common syndrome. By the end of 1996, over 379,258 American men, women, and children lost their lives to AIDS according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Initially AIDS epidemic were defined by “the ‘Four H’s” of the disease risk groups-homosexuals, heroin addicts, hemophiliacs, and Haitians. Since none of these groups was a part of the social mainstream, it was easy for society to overlook their suffering or to create bizarre explanations for it. People widely believed that these groups of infected people were victims of God’s Wrath. The burdens faced by communities already struggling with discrimination, poverty, a lack of health care, and drug addiction have increased incrementally in the wake of this disease. The vast numbers of HIV cases in these communities have provoked fear and contempt among the politically powerful rather than mobilize them to develop adequate resources for essential medical research and necessary systems of care.…
- 1788 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Leading on to my next point, this has a massive effect on health due to the fact that this disease affects the immune system and so therefore shortens life expectancy. The average life expectancy in South Africa is 51 years old compared to MEDCS e.g. the UK average life expectancy is 80. Health care in South Africa is very poor as there is a shortage of doctors there. Although the public system serves the vast majority of the population, it is chronically underfunded and understaffed. In 2005, South Africa spent only 8.7 percent of GDP on health care; this is $437 per capita, this is very poor as there is almost nothing being spent on health care in support of preventing HIV/AIDS. There is an average of almost 1,000 deaths of AIDS a day in South Africa due to the fact that there is a poor health care system in place. This disease is passed on through intercourse, the majority of the time its passed through unprotected anal or vaginal sex, sharing injecting equipment and from a mother to her baby during pregnancy; birth or when breast feeding.…
- 930 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
AIDS - acquired immunodeficiency syndrome - was first reported in the United States in 1981 and has since become a major worldwide epidemic. AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By killing or damaging cells of the body's immune system, HIV progressively destroys the body's ability to fight infections and certain cancers. People diagnosed with AIDS may get life-threatening diseases called opportunistic infections, which are caused by microbes such as viruses or bacteria that usually do not make healthy people sick. More than 790,000 cases of AIDS have been reported in the United States since 1981, and as many as 900,000 Americans may be infected with HIV. This epidemic is growing more rapidly among minority populations and…
- 3079 Words
- 13 Pages
Powerful Essays -
South Africa is the largest AID infected country in the world. Leaders in South Africa admit to mismanaging the AIDS crisis there. They denied that HIV was the cause of AIDS and prescribed the wrong medication to people with this sickness. This ultimately had a health effect on the people of South Africa. It has an impact on unborn babies. According to researchers, 37,000 babies will be infected with Hiv Aids in the next 6…
- 262 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
To have hope, in the face of fear, to allow your light to burn, and march on in hopes of finding a better place, requires perseverance. To persevere one must be brave enough to push away the demons and have the courage to face them as well, this journey is one Chanda has experienced well. The book Chanda’s Secrets, by Allan Stratton, takes place in the city of Bonang, located in Africa. Within the city lives the Kabelo family who have suffered many unfortunate diseases, such as the taboo of AIDS. However, no matter their scenario, one family member, in particular, always finds a way to stride on, this survivor is Chanda. Even though their family is poor and plagued, Chanda is constantly determined to find the light, to hope, with perseverance…
- 1715 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
Martin Luther King Jr once said, “We must accept finite disappointments but never lose infinite hope.” Chanda’s Secrets created by Allan Stratton is a fictional novel. In Chanda’s Secrets only one person, that being Chanda shows an immeasurable amount of hope even though she faced a numerous amount of devastation and disappointments. Mama displays through various occasions that she is more accepting of having faith in her pride when confronted with challenges. This novel is about how it is in human nature to hope for what is desired but also contradicts that by showing that many lose hope after being defeated by an obstacle.…
- 1318 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Thirty-three million people have AIDS in the world. Africa has two-thirds of that number. According to the United Nations Aids Program on HIV/Aids, and World Health Organization (WHO), estimates, seven out of ten people newly infected with HIV in 1998 live in sub Saharan Africa. Among children under 15, the proportion is nine out of ten. Of all Aids deaths since the epidemic started, eighty-three percent have been in the region. These numbers sound even more astonishing considering only one-tenth of the world's population lives in Africa, south of the Sahara. The amount of Africans affected by the epidemic is frightening. Since the start of the epidemic, an estimated 34 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa have been infected with HIV. Approximately 11.5 million of those people have already died, one-fourth of them being children. During the course of 1998, Aids has been responsible for an estimated two million deaths in Africa. There is about 21.5 million men and women living with HIV in Africa, plus an extra one million being children. Four million of those people contracted the infection in 1998 alone (Mail 8 guardian).…
- 1127 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Therefore, when police officers came to arrest her and put her in quarantine without trial, she really did not know what was happening to her and why. They told her that she was a healthy carrier and had made people sick, but why would she believe this? It was a really novel…
- 856 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
“HIV is the virus that causes AIDS” (2010). The virus weakens the body’s defense system, this makes it hard on the body to fight off other health problems and as time goes by the body becomes less able to fight off diseases. In the United States there was one in four new cases, which women account for and two in three are African American women who got HIV from unprotected sex with a man.…
- 401 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Communicable diseases are global health issues nowadays as the world become globalized by increasing international travel and business. Among many of communicable diseases, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection is considered to be one of the most severe communicable diseases worldwide. It has spread rapidly throughout the whole world from the continent of Africa since it was first reported in 1981(Maurer & Smith, 2009). By 1987, it had spread to 100 countries, by 2001, HIV became the leading infectious cause of death in the world. Scientists believe a similar virus to HIV first found in animals such as chimps and monkeys in Africa, where Africans are hunted for food. While they contact with an infected animal 's blood during butchering or cooking, the virus might cross into humans and become HIV (Mayo Clinic, n.d.). HIV causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome(AIDS). Having HIV does not always mean having AIDS. To develop AIDS, it take many years for people with HIV. The epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa is devastating because it disrupts family life, leaving many children without parents ' support. Reduced workforces in African society impact socioeconomic issues as well. These days, HIV/AIDS are not only problems in the African continent, but they are now also seen in every continent in the entire world. As of 2008, United Nations (UN) general assembly special session on HIV/AIDS estimated that there were roughly 33-4 million people living with HIV, 2.7 million new infections of HIV, and 2 million deaths from AIDS. According to the Center of Disease Control(CDC), about 1.1 million people in the U.S. had been diagnosed with AIDS since the disease diagnosed in 1981(Maurer & Smith, 2009).…
- 1714 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
The human immunodeficiency virus known as HIV is a communicable disease that damages the individual’s body by damaging certain blood cells, named CD4+ T cells, known as cluster of differentiation 4, and helper T cells; cells vital to assisting the body battle diseases. Two forms of HIV include HIV-1 and HIV-2. People infected with HIV can experience symptoms similar to the flu, which may last up to 14 days, whereas others may experience no symptoms of any kind. Individuals can live healthy without any symptoms for many years; however, the human immunodeficiency virus is still damaging his or her body. All individuals with this communicable disease must be seen on a consistent basis by a health care worker, trained in treating this disease.…
- 1816 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
“Two-thirds of all people infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, although this region contains little more than 10% of the world’s population” ("The impact of HIV & AIDS on Africa", 2010, para. 1). “During 2008 alone, an estimated 1.4 million adults and children died as a result of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa…[that is] more than 15 million Africans [who] have died from AIDS…since the beginning of the epidemic”("The impact of HIV & AIDS on Africa", 2010, para. 1). The impact that HIV/AIDS has had on this region is astounding and caused widespread human suffering. “The most obvious effect of this crisis has been illness and death, but the impact of the epidemic has certainly not been confined to the health sector; households, schools, workplaces and economies have also been badly affected” ("The impact of HIV & AIDS on Africa", 2010, para. 1). Most of these sub-Saharan countries are still in the developing stages in terms of their economies; the damage that the epidemic has done to the economy seems irreversible.…
- 2268 Words
- 10 Pages
Powerful Essays -
HIV/AIDs is a huge epidemic still plaguing society today. The lack of knowledge and technical advances has caused an increasing number of cases. It has made its way around the world since the 1940s, causing countries to join together in the fight against AIDs. With all the campaigning that has been done the numbers of cases continue to rise. Countries have separated the disease into three patterns to make it easier to distinguish the effects that AIDs has on different regions of the world. As well as what subtypes sprout from what areas. HIV/AIDs can be spread in many different ways. The future is still uncertain for the victims whom lives have been dramatically changed by this deadly disease.…
- 1341 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
It is clear that various illnesses have not only medical stressors but, also a social, economic and moral impact. HIV/AIDS can have devastating consequences on affected individuals and their support systems. It is a stigmatized illness and people who suffer from this illness are likely to be discriminated against by people in society as well as institutions. Aids/HIV was typically associated with the gay community who did not practice safe sex and had various partners, and drug addicted individuals. Hence, many adopted an attitude that an illness such as this is created by reckless individuals.…
- 1266 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
why he gets AIDS. Until the disease is evidently shown on his body, “He’s a skeleton. The flesh has been sucked out from under his skin. The skin’s dried so tight to his skull that the bridge of his nose has ripped through.” (106) he is outcast and his sister- Ruth is the first one to detect his symptoms of disease. She…
- 1518 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays