Introduction
HIV/AIDS arguably represents one of the biggest pandemics that humanity has faced during its existence. The disease has plagued mankind for years now with the first reported incidence of the disease in the US being in 1981 (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services., n.d.). However, the HIV scourge was initially ignored by authorities only to receive the requisite attention after the demise of Rock Hudson (A death gives AIDS a face, 2006).
National Administrative Systems as Related to AIDS
Despite the numerous misconceptions that characterized the advent of the epidemic, great strides have been undertaken to combat the virus. The actions put in place by national governments and other organizations the all over the world vary widely depending on the prevalence level of the disease as well as the common mode of transmission.
Firstly, AIDS pandemic has significantly affected drug users. Amongst this group of substance abusers AIDS transmission from one user to another often occurs through sharing of syringes. For instance, 60% of people living with AIDS in Russia have a history of substance abuse (Fowler, 2015). Albeit this damning statistic, the Russian government has chosen to uphold its decision to ban the use of Methadone. Many countries in Europe have embraced the use of Methadone to counter the use of heroin to significant effect. Furthermore, the distribution of free syringes has also been adopted by many countries. Despite this success, Russia still maintains the use of the archaic ‘narcology’ in the fight against AIDS and substance abuse (Fowler, 2015).
Administrative Systems
Secondly, governments have embraced the use of public awareness to curb the spread of AIDS in their jurisdictions. For example, Argentina has used a combination of free medical care and educating its youth as a way of combating the malady. As a result of this government initiatives, the country has managed to fight aids fruitfully. Evidence of this success emanates from the impressive knowledge level on AIDS amongst the country’s youth.
86% of young men and 89% of young women in Argentina know about AIDS preventive measures (Mundial, 2014). In comparison, Uganda has embraced the use of preventive campaigns as a way of reining in on the epidemic. This ploy has yielded great success as the country previously ranked as the 1st country in terms of HIV prevalence has significantly reduced the cases of new infections (What is comparative public administration? 2015).
Thirdly, Public Administration entangles with HIV/AIDS on the funding front. A majority of developing countries have managed to reduce the incidents of AIDS-related deaths through the use of donations through programs such as PEPFAR. PEPFAR resulted from years of intensive lobbying by the Christian community and activists that forced the US government to set up the fund (What is comparative public administration? 2015).
However, policy reviews have threatened to jeopardize the fight against AIDS. For example, South Africa a country that attributes success in the fight against AIDS to PEPFAR donations stands to lose the war. This challenge faced by South Africa stems from the fact that PEPFAR now lays more emphasis on poorer countries leaving beneficiaries such as South Africa in a precarious situation (McNeil, 2014). In contrast, developed countries rely on internal funding rather than donations in their fight against AIDS. For instance, Argentina through its ‘free’ campaign provided free health care that catalyzed the battle against AIDS in the country (Mundial, 2014).
Also, the public administration makes use of new medical approaches in the war against AIDS. Despite years of research by major pharmaceutical companies in the world, AIDS still has no cure. The lack of a cure has necessitated the use of preventive measures to curb the spread of AIDS. Case in point being Cuba, which has successfully employed the ploy of preventing mother to child AIDS transmission.
This effort by the Cuban government has earned the country recognition coming in the form of WHO validation (Brink, 2015). In comparison, Russia has opted to ignore the existence AIDS as a national catastrophe. The stance taken by Russia resonates with the beliefs of the influential Russian Orthodox Church. Furthermore, the country has also opposed attempts to introduce sex education into the curriculum (Fowler, 2015).
AIDS Policy Implementation
Lastly, another bureaucratic approach against the AIDS pandemic revolves around legislations geared towards the reduction of stigma. During the initial years, the common belief was that AIDS only affected people practicing homosexuality. However, the occurrence of AIDS amongst heterosexuals quickly dispelled off the belief. As a result, some governments such as the US have legalized same-sex marriages (What is comparative public administration? 2015). US boasts of successfully managing to curb the prevalence of AIDS in the country as well as reducing stigma. In contrast, many countries maintain their stance against same-sex marriages.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the policy measures adopted by countries about AIDS vary greatly. Regardless of this variations in policy direction it is evident that a majority of these policies aim towards preventing the spread of AIDS. Despite the disparities in policies of individual countries, it is clear that countries share some policies against the pandemic.
References
A death gives AIDS a face. (2006). Web.
Brink, S. (2015). Cuba is first to earn WHO seal for ending mother-baby HIV transmission. Web.
Fowler, L. (2015). Fighting HIV where no-one admits it is a problem. Web.
McNeil, D. (2014). AIDS progress in South Africa is in peril. Web.
Mundial, B. (2014). Argentina, the Country that Stopped AIDS with the Word “Free”. Web.
What is comparative public administration? (2015). Web.