Health: HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria pose a great challenge to society

Today, it is possible to launch a truly global response to the major infectious diseases that keep people in poverty, focusing initially on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. While effective prevention and treatment strategies have long been available for controlling these diseases, political will and social support are materializing to help our societies go to scale in fighting these deadly epidemics. The highest death rate in the country has been recorded by the ministry of health due to these infectious diseases. Yet health illness is one of the main reasons why the poor stay poor. Infections lead to poverty, and poverty leads to infections. For every person who died of these infectious diseases, many more people infected with these diseases still lived on but have been subjected to poverty conditions as their health and lives are affected by frequent bouts of illness. With existing health knowledge and technology, it is possible to prevent the great majority of these premature deaths and reduce the suffering of thousands of people in our societies and millions of people worldwide. Today the government of Rwanda has set up stringent measures to overcome challenges posed by these infectious diseases. But with the disease burden lifted, the poor can also gain greater control over their own health and lives, and improve their capacity to raise themselves out of poverty. The control of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria requires multiplying the availability of medicines and supplies. It is important to note however that all this depend on mobilizing trained and well equipped health professionals and volunteers who can bring essential health services that are affordable by all people. This also requires an unprecedented deployment of communications and marketing strategies to encourage healthy preventive behaviour among people who are at the greatest risk. Research and evidences from the world health organization reveals that ninety five percent of all HIV infections occur in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, and thus has cut life expectancy of people living in these areas. In sub-Saharan Africa, HIV is said to be killing more people than other conflicts such as war. HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis infections are linked in several circumstances and because of their suppressed immune systems, people infected with HIV and TB are many times more likely to develop active TB. In several African countries, the number of TB cases has doubled or even trebled in the past decade mainly as a result of the HIV epidemic. Malaria often acts together with malnutrition, respiratory infections and other diseases that affect people who are vulnerable to the malarial infections. Although insecticide treated nets offer children a very high level of protection against malaria, less than five per cent of those at risk sleep safely under them. In endemic countries pregnant women are at a much higher risk of contracting malaria and this is why the ministry of health took the initiative few years ago to supply mosquito nets to all pregnant mothers. Malaria infection during pregnancy may cause maternal anemia and lead to an increased risk of maternal death. Malaria in pregnancy also increases the risk of miscarriage. Babies born to mothers with malaria often have low birth weight, which adversely affects the health and development of the young child. Though these infectious diseases have posed great challenge to the society, it is possible to mount a campaign against these three diseases and their burden of death and suffering which they cause to the people. It should also be noted that the benefits of ensuring success in this massive effort to fight against these diseases of poverty that brings poverty to our people outweigh the costs of their control. In our societies, people who are most vulnerable to infectious diseases are infants and children below the age of 5 years, pregnant women and young mothers. Also to mention here are people who are in their most productive and reproductive years, whose health is endangered by infections, malnutrition, weakened immune systems and environmental factors beyond their control. By controlling AIDS, TB and malaria, we can remove significant obstacles that keep people in poverty. Because of constant and recurrent illness caused by these diseases, these diseases prevent adults from working and hence reduce the income and food available to families. Moreover, since deaths due to AIDS and TB occur mainly among young adults with dependent children, these diseases are creating a generation of orphans growing up in deprivation, lacking parental support and guidance, unable to attain education levels and virtually condemned to a life of poverty. Furthermore, by controlling the three infectious diseases, we can be able to prevent families from falling into poverty and decrease business costs incurred through increased absenteeism, higher recruitment and training costs, and greater expenditure on medical care for employees. These diseases significantly cut into the productivity of private firms and state enterprises, slowing national economic development. Infectious diseases contribute to unhealthy market conditions where people have less income as breadwinners no longer are able to support their families as a result of illness and death. These diseases also increase the cost of health care to poor families. And because of its chronic nature, HIV/AIDS is a particularly heavy drain on family finances. Whenever a family member falls sick with an HIV related illness, spending on medical treatment such as drugs and traditional remedies rises dramatically. When cash runs out, precious assets such as cattle, land, bicycles and furniture are sold to pay medical bills. AIDS drives average households into poverty and condemns the poor to miserable conditions. It is also worth to mention that we can stop losing further ground against drug-resistance, which threatens to undermine our limited support of low cost drugs for the effective treatment of TB and malaria. In many parts of the world, current malaria treatments are losing and have already lost their potency owing to the increasing prevalence of drug-resistant parasites, and new treatments for malaria may be priced out of reach of the most needy. We still have a window of opportunity to make much progress against these diseases with existing drugs. But if we fail to make wide and efficient use of these medicines now, they are likely to slip through our grasp due to growing resistance. Drug resistant TB is on the rise, greatly increasing the cost of treatment. Ends