Introduction

This brief article will attempt to present the factors that might contribute to developing illness or maintain health and the psycho political analysis of the HIV/AIDS epidemic particularly, in relation to its devastating expression in African countries and in the world at large. It also points out that the challenge of the 21^st century for the forces of the globe is the challenge to control and over come the spread of diseases, epidemics and premature deaths in the world. It is a challenge to fully understand the notion that if serious and meaningful interventions to control the spread of HIV/AIDS like infectious diseases are not implemented, we will face a significant level of destruction, a very large number of disabled and diseased population, a huge reduction of society’s productive human resources, and a qualitative destruction of humanity itself. This brief discussion suggest that such health crisis is a global, crucial and urgent matter for all, researchers, educators, and government policy makers to device the means and the full commitment to combat and prevent such potential weapons of mass destruction. HIV/AIDS like and other similar epidemics have the potential to be weapon of global destruction. It is very important to be cognizant why and how such horrendous epidemic is ravaging the world and what causes and promote such diseases processes in today’s world.

It is suggested that social factors such as war and trauma, poverty, famine, limited access to resources, cultural, psychological disorders, disillusions, political and economic oppressions, provide a fertile ground for imbalance and the proliferation of disease in societies and individuals. As the psychosocial stressors increases, the proper functioning of the immune system decreases and is greatly compromised, for the body, mind, and soul is interconnected in the process of contracting illness or maintain health. Thus, creating sociopolitical conditions that are conducive for peaceful and stable life are foundations for health and prevents such rampant devastating epidemics like HIV/AIDS environment 

The current HIV/AIDS in particular and health crisis in general, is primarily a struggle to ensure survival by tackling premature death and controlling the rampant spread of diseases which requires controlling the growing rate of malnutrition, war, violence and distress in the world. It certainly demands understanding and balancing the spiritual awakening of the collective consciousness so we can see the interconnection and interdependence among people of the globe. That is if one is affected, all is affected, even though it may not be readily apparent. Thus, it is very important to obtain knowledge and awareness of the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS like epidemics, what it truly is and the potential destructive and debilitating impact on human life in the world in general.

The Relationship Between Psychosocial Stressors and HIV/AIDS like Epidemics

AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, though still controversial, the assumption is that it is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The virus destroys and impairs the function of the cells of the immune system, and progressively reduces the body's ability to fight infections and other disease conditions. Persons diagnosed with AIDS are susceptible to diseases called opportunistic infections, which are caused by other virus and bacteria that usually would not cause life threatening illness in healthy people. Like all viruses and pathogenic microbes, HIV weakens the immune system exposing the body for disease. In addition, the definition of AIDS includes over two dozens clinical conditions that affect people with advanced HIV disease, which are opportunistic infections that rarely cause harm in healthy individuals.

In fact, AIDS is considered to be a multi-causal disease caused and/or exacerbate by severely distressed psychological health condition. African nations to the most part for the past decade have lead lives that were dominated by conflict, violence, and oppressive political, and cultural conditions. Theses conditions in turn breed and contribute to developing psychological hopelessness, psychosocial trauma and general deterioration of health. This show that increased level of social disorders, prolonged oppression and poverty can potentially create mentally and physically fragile and vulnerable population, exposing them further to weakness, illness and death. For weakened health status coupled with unsupportive social conditions specially when it occurs for a prolonged period of time it can result in diminishing health and premature death.

Conditions such as the co-occurrence and increase in diseases that rampage communities such as, malaria, tuberculoses, and other infectious and sexually transmitted diseases render the body to further susceptibility and increase the likelihood of the spread of HIV/AIDS like infections. Other factors such as age, gender, or genetic differences between individuals, the level of virulence of the individual strain of virus, level of distress as well as exogenous influences such as co-infection with other microbes may determine the rate and severity of HIV disease expression. Also the rate of disease progression and premature death seem to be related to the psychosocial factors, this is apparent particularly in poverty stricken and highly distressed areas of the world, with great weight on the black world.

The Global Pattern of the Spread of HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Historically the HIV/AIDS infection occurred mostly among white male homosexuals particularly in the early stage of the epidemic. Gradually, it was found in drug users blood and blood product recipients and finally heterosexuals. Today it is known that anybody can contract AIDS and it can be found in almost in every country and in almost every demographic group. However, the incidence and prevalence of AIDS are rather unevenly distributed with certain population disproportionately affected that is having the highest rates of infection, progressing and death.

Even though in the western world to some extent HIV prevention programs and strategies adopted have been effective in reducing transmission and death rate, the reality for the majority of the world population is quite different. It is reported by the World Health Organizations and others that over 40 million people are affected with HIV worldwide and of these the majority of the people infected live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Similarly, in the United States, the epidemic is growing most rapidly among the African American population. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is six to seven times higher in African-Americans. There are also strong suggestions that state of poor mental health and depression may be related to high-risk behaviors such as lead to drug use and addiction, as well as poor judgment in selecting sexual partners. Research suggests that there is a strong relationship between depressive symptom high-risk behaviors and depressive women are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors such as drug use and multiple partners with IV drug users.

The HIV/AIDS like epidemics seem to be spreading rapidly and dangerously among Africans and Africans wherever they are in the world. It is also reported that in Australia the rate of new cases of HIV/AIDS among Aborigines, has increased past non-aborigines, whereas the non-Aborigines cases decreased. In Western countries, the disparity and the gap in rate of contracting, disease progression and death from HIV/AIDS between blacks and immigrant population and European and European American population is very wide and significantly different. As the patterns and rate of spreading varies, it is also important to note that the epidemiological and viral strains of the African virus are different from those found in Europe and USA.

Women, Children and HIV/AIDS

In general, women not only contract HIV/AIDS more easily from men compare to women transmitting to men, but also women with AIDS die faster than men. A study at the university of Minnesota has found that HIV infected women have shorter survival rates than men who are HIV infected, and were comparably ill.  The rate of transmission from men to women is much higher than contracting from women to men for several reasons including, anatomical and physiological differences between the genders.

There is a very wide gap between men and women living with HIV/AIDS, it is estimated that in most countries, women are being infected with HIV at earlier ages than men. Globally, women who in fact were the least affected group at the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are now the highest in among people who contracted the infection. UNAID reported studies that suggest that in sub-Saharan Africa for every 10 young men there are about 36 young women living with HIV. In some African countries the ratio of women living with HIV ranges to more than nine to one even though many of the women had only one partner.

It is important to note that women are impacted by multiple psychosocial stressors and carry a huge burden of societal failure. Violence, sexual abuse and political, economic and cultural domination on women are important and major factors that contribute to the problem of health in general and contraction of HIV/AIDS in particular. One important culprit impacting upon women and children and affecting their health and wellness adversely is poverty. Though it is not limited to women nowadays, women across the globe where poverty has taken a grip are subjected and forced to selling their body for survival and this is one of the means of transmission of HIV/AIDS and other STDs. Eliminating poverty could easily abate spread of disease and could be used as a major preventive tool. This can empower women by reducing some of the negative psychosocial stressors in their life.

Summary and Concluding Remark

HIV/AIDS like infectious epidemics and in general the health status of any people is a reflection and a consequence of the way in which we conducted our life and the imbalance caused by both the individuals and the community.  There is a very important relationship between psychological status and the ability to resist illness and maintain physical wellness. This is based on notion of the integration of body, mind, and soul and that a disorder in one will be manifested in itself and each other’s. People with tremendous psychological and mental anguish manifest corresponding physical ailments and are as well highly susceptible to any illness which otherwise would not have been harmful. Maintain balance in spirituality and levels of faith are also important indicators of health and healing processes in both physical and mental disorders.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic within the African context has additional psychological and political dimension as it relates to the position that Africa and Africans hold in the global politics and power compare to the rest of the world. Therefore, researchers and health educators need to be cognizant of the interconnected social and political reality that affects the current health crisis in the world in general and in Africa in particular.

Similarly healers, caregivers and health professionals should be able to help and to change the course of circumstances, but when they cannot meet the need this become a big source of frustration and stress. To avoid feeling such sense of helplessness, it is very important that among other things, we engage in studying and providing psychospiritually centered services which might create and afford the conditions that would allow us to forge the path to restoration and balance the forces of life in order to establish healthy world. As much as we are invested in finding the cure for diseases, it is imperative that we invest on preventing and eliminating the underlying causes of HIV/AIDS or any other health problems and disorders in an integrated manner. In doing so, we can restore and balance the forces of life between and within body, mind and soul and the integration of the three elements in our realm of reality. For the psychology of health is centered on restoring life forces, that is making the persons as well as the globe whole and integrated because we all are in one interconnected web of life.