HIV is a lurking disease, it can stay in the body for years before manifesting itself. When it does it shows itself as the most deadly and viscous disease of all time, AIDS. At this point in time there are currently over 42 million people infected worldwide. The most horrifying fact about the AIDS virus is how young it is. AIDS was first discovered in the U.S. in 1981. Yet, in its short history it has claimed the lives of more then 25 million, as many as the black plague. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This is the virus that causes Aids. It attacks the "T" cells that defend the body against infections. As more and more "T" cells take over the body it becomes less able to fight off illnesses. AIDS is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. One is said to have AIDS once the immune system is so damaged that opportunistic infections begin to develop. The most common infections contracted once infected with AIDS are tuberculosis, pneumonia, skin cancer, meningitis, thrush, herpes and bacterial infections that cause fevers and digestion difficulties. In the early stages of AIDS the following symptoms are most common: lack of energy, chronic diarrhea, painful sores or rashes, sores on the lips that so not heal, fevers and night sweats, swollen glands in the neck, armpits and groin, thrush (white rash) in the mouth or on the genitals, repeated infection in the throat or ears, recurring shingles (an intensely painful rash that may cover the torso and face), and weight loss. Then come the late progression symptoms: respiratory conditions such as pneumonia and TB, further weight loss, extreme fatigue, dark blue or reddish marks on the skin (known as Kaposi’s Sarcoma or lesions), painful and itchy skin rashes, prickly pain in the hands and feet, and finally death from another viral infection. Of the 42 million infected 95% live in developing countries, of these, most are in Africa. However, the disease is growing at an alarming rate in China, India and Indonesia-the world’s three most populous countries. What this shows is that AIDS is a problem the whole world is facing, and thus one that must be stopped. There is hope for stopping the disease as well. In 1981 an estimated 75% of all HIV/AIDS cases were in the poorer, developing countries of the world. Today that number is 95%. There are two main reasons for this, one is that the disease grows exponentially once it has a foothold in a country, for example as recently as 1994, no country in Europe/Central Asia had reported more then a few HIV infections. By 1999, 420,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS, and now just three years later that number has doubled to one million. The other reason for the percentage change is that there are fewer and fewer cases now in developed countries. This is because vaccines are increasingly effective, and the vaccines that stop the transfer of the disease from mother to child are hundred percent effective.

This chart shows the estimate of the percentage of workers that will be lost in African countries by 2020 due to AIDS. In many of these countries the numbers while more then double. These are the estimates if the developed world does not provide support.

The above chart shows projected deaths due to AIDS, compared to those due to other causes. These charts project enough deaths to almost cripple the global economy.

Canada’s foreign policy currently has and Official Development Assistance (ODA) Program. This program outlines the need for Canada support sustainable development in developing countries, in order to reduce poverty and to contribute to a more secure, equitable and prosperous world. In the ODA it states that one of the basic functions should be to support basic human needs, which stopping the HIV/AIDS pandemic obviously is. As HIV/AIDS spreads in Africa it also spreads in the rest of the world, however, its foothold remains the same. Its foothold is Africa. To stop a disease from spreading it must be cut off at the roots. The longer the disease is allowed to go without a fight the harder it will be to get rid of, and the more it will cost us in the end. The reasons for stopping AIDS in Africa are not merely humanitarian, but also economical. Much of the money currently sent to Africa is going towards replacing teachers who have died from AIDS. From 1996-1998 more then 100 primary schools were closed in Africa due to teacher mortality rates rising from AIDS. What this shows is that any money the developed world sends to Africa will accomplish next to nothing of what it could if AIDS was no longer an issue. While the medical supplies that are sent there now to combat bacterial infections and diseases like tuberculosis are doing the job of decreasing the death rate from those diseases the effect is dwarfed by the increasing number of AIDS deaths. What use are housing programs, education programs and job training if all it is doing is training people who will soon die from AIDS. These lack of effect from our monetary aid is nothing compared to the economic hit the world will take when the AIDS virus starts to completely wipe out the African workforce. In South Africa alone 27 percent of mine workers and 22 percent of transportation workers are expected to be lost to AIDS between 2000 and 2005. The African countries’ mining, agricultural and transport sectors are shrinking. Craft skills literally die out so that there are neither products to sell, nor items to buy. This causes the financial sector to come under stress. Insurance is now next to obsolete in developing countries because they have to pay out more, as they take in less. This problem while being devastating to Africa’s economy may not seem to be that important an issue, however considering the rapid spreading of AIDS to China, India and Indonesia means that it will eventually have a similar effect on their infrastructure, which would in turn hurt Canada as much of our goods are produced in these countries. So it can be seen that AIDS may have a chain reaction affecting the whole world, thus it is crucial Canada tries to stop it while it is still controllable.

This chart clearly illustrates how increased cases of AIDS and the deaths they cause hurts business and forms a vicious cycle, having a damaging and eventually crippling effect on the global economy. The other reason for Canada to help is that one of its ODA goals is to help women in development. AIDS is a disease that affects women more then men by far. Since women do not have the same rights as men in Africa they are often forced to marry young and sex is something they are required to provide to men. This causes them to be open to infection from older men who have already had many other sexual partners. Rape is also commonplace in many ways in Africa. It is far more widespread and barely punished at all in comparison to the developed world. This again leaves women at a disadvantage when combating AIDS. The other factor that makes African women more susceptible to HIV/AIDS is female genital mutilation (FGM). This is any procedure that involves partial or total removal of female external genitalia and/or injury to female genital organs for cultural reasons. This leaves women open to infection, commonly HIV’AIDS. For all these reasons and more, Canada should be helping.

Since Lester B. Pearson was Canada’s foreign affairs minister in the 1950’s Canada’s goal for financial aid to developing countries has been to give 0.07% of its total GNP. The GNP comes to around $920 billion this means we should be giving more then $64 billion towards its ODA. This however is by no means the case. The current reason given for this is that fiscal policy does not permit it. This is unacceptable. Of the $10 billion dollars promised to Africa from the developed world to help combat HIV/AIDS last year, less then 2 billion was actually given, and little over one billion of that was actually used. Canada should be reaching its proposed goal of 0.07% and even surpassing it. In the last five years the Canadian government has given an average of 0.032%, less then half of our goal. In comparison to other countries we were merely average, falling far behind Denmark, Holland, and Norway, all of whom had given nearly 0.09%. This is where Canada should be, at the 0.09% mark. Canada is often running surplus budgets and thus can afford to provide what it says it will. The way to specifically implement our financial aid to Africa is to cover three areas. First, provide education on HIV/AIDS. Close to 80% of children in Africa did not know that someone who looked healthy could be infected with HIV. So, to help prevent the spreading of the virus it is important to inform the youth of how it can be contracted, and sexual responsibility. 20% of financial aid sent to Africa to combat the AIDS virus should go directly to educating youth on the prevention. Second, is the use of vaccination on babies of infected mothers. While AIDS is not curable, it is controllable. There are what are know as antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), which restrict HIV from replicating itself in the body. These drugs make it possible to live a longer, less painful and almost normal life when HIV positive, they also can often prevent HIV from manifesting itself as AIDS. These drugs are not expensive and should be made readily available to those infected. The most important vaccine is one that can be administered to an unborn baby of an HIV infected mother. This vaccine prevents the child from becoming HIV positive through the placenta, exposure to blood during childbirth or by breastfeeding. The money spent on these drugs should account for 60% of all money sent to combat HIV/AIDS. This leaves a remaining 20%, which should be used to provide support for the orphans of the AIDS virus. There are currently more then 14 million orphans of the AIDS virus living in Africa. These children are often not able to attend school as they must spend their time trying to run a family of their younger siblings from as early as age nine or ten. So this 20% should go to provided food programs for these children so they may attend school instead of trying to grow enough crops to feed themselves. Also, this money may be used to purchase bicycles to get to school with, as the walk can often be more then two hours each way. In terms of how this money should be divided up between this different African nations, it should be based on no political agenda, solely on percentage of people in a country infected with the disease. For example, Botswana has 35.8% of its population infected with HIV/AIDS, whereas, Togo has only 5.9% infected. The money should be divided the same way within each country, and each country will be given as much as there percentage infected demands.

This is a plan that requires a long-term vision. While the effects of AIDS can be seen throughout those countries which are currently plagued with it is hard for Canada to grasp that this will affect us in the long run. If the problem is not stopped in Africa it will spread to other countries we rely on heavily for trade, such as China, India and Indonesia. The way the money will be divided amongst the African nations is not based on any political agenda, just on the stats of which country has more people infected with respect to their total population, and thus needs it more. There is no preferential treatment of one nation over another and thus no toes will be stepped on in the international arena. Internationally speaking stopping the HIV/AIDS pandemic as soon as possible will be beneficial in the future, and prevent the global economy from being crippled due to lack of laborers. Domestically speaking, Canada will suffer. The nation will no doubt run a deficit for several years after first implementing this policy. However, Canada is a nation whose economy relies on trade, more then 300 billion dollars of Canada’s GDP comes from exports. If there are no longer strong trading partners throughout the world because their infrastructures have collapsed then our economy will suffer greatly. This policy will cost Canada money, it will not cripple it. Not implementing this policy will. The time to act is now, let Canada be the global front-runner in the fight against AIDS.

"We cannot turn out back any longer on this crisis. History will judge each of us according to the way we have met what is perhaps the greatest challenge our race has ever faced."