Aids and it is obstacle to African development Essay

Aids and it is obstacle to African development - Essay Example As such, this essay seeks to critically discuss the obstacles caused by the HIV/AIDS pandemic to African development by analysing the situation in South Africa, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone. The paper seeks to outline the direct effects of HIV/AIDS on development in these three countries as well as the measures that have been put by the respective governments to deal with the situation. Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) is contracted through birth, sex, sharing sharp objects such as a razor blade and over time the virus will spread over the body and weaken its cells. The weakening of cells causes AIDS- Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome which leads to illness and eventually death from related diseases such as tuberculosis or pneumonia and many others (Greyling, 2). HIV/AIDS is one of the most difficult catastrophes to deal with during the contemporary period given that a cure for this deadly pandemic is not yet available and may not be near in sight for quite some time hence the only option that is available at the moment is to strengthen the mechanisms to prevent, reduce the spread and minimise the impact of HIV/AIDS (Benjamin & Barry, 28). In the Sub Saharan Africa in particular, death rates have continued to rise because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic causing life expectancy to fall from an average of 50 years in 1990 to 46 years in 2002 (ADI, 14). AIDS related deaths were 2.2 million in Africa in 2001 and there were more than 30 million infected people. Both Ethiopia and Sierra Leone also have high HIV infection rates according to the report. In the same vein, South Africa is one of the countries with highest HIV infections in the Sub Sahara region regardless of its strong economic performance. The productive age group has been severely affected by the pandemic and this consequently affects growth and development. There are high chances of loss of production and the government in respective countries have to spend a lot of money to procure drugs as well as puttin g other measures to fight against the pandemic which negatively impacts on development. In order to establish the extent to which the HIV/AIDS pandemic is seen as an obstacle to development especially in the three African countries mentioned above, it is imperative to begin by outlining the state of their economies using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) index to measure the performance of their economies. According to World Bank Development Indicators in 2011, South Africa’s GDP is $285, 366 billion, $28, 526 Billion and Sierra Leone at $1, 942 Billion. Comparatively, it can be noted that there is a wide gap between the economies of the three countries and this reflects the country’s ability to cope with the deadly pandemic in view of its economic development and growth concerns. In most cases, the workforce is the major driver of economic development in any given country but the deadly HIV/AIDS pandemic is posing a serious challenge to the development of many Africa c ountries. Special attention will be paid to South Africa, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone in the discussion of how this pandemic has adversely affected economic development in African countries. According to You Magazine (4), 39 percent of all premature deaths were ascribed to HIV/AIDS and it was reported that

Personal though Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal though - Essay Example Modeling is probably the most effective method through which children actually learn better as it offers them an alternative to actually model their behavior and learn relatively easily. (White, Coleman and Davis) 2. I believe teachers are increasingly been seeing as role models- people who can actually help children to better understand the world. Since in this busy world, parents may often not be the ideal role models therefore children and their families often view teacher as someone who can help children to better develop their abilities to successfully negotiate with the world. Feedback from teachers is considered as important and parents can actually remodel the behavior of their children based upon the feedback received from the teachers. Families increasingly see teachers as someone who can actually help children to better find connections between the real world and their perceptions. As such it becomes important that teachers build a better rapport with families to help them better understand the overall orientation of their children so that a better future for them can be planned. (Anning, Cullen and Fleer) 3. I believe one of my most important strengths as an early childhood education professional is to ensure that children basically understand the role of a teacher. I believe that as a teacher it has remained one of my strengths to actually help children realize what the different roles of teacher are and what is expected from them as students. I consider this as strength because it develops a better ability in children to understand what they can expect from a teacher. Since at the early stage of their learning, children often have to deal with both the parents as well as the teachers therefore it becomes necessary for a teacher actually to fill the gap and help children to better learn and develop. 4. I believe the next big area will be to combine technology with learning in most effective manner. With new technologies coming out, the