The AIDS problem in Africa is literally everywhere and has become an issue that cannot be ignored. Africans are affected directly and directly by the epidemic. Every homestead has been affected one way or the other.

With the death rate increasing because of the AIDS issue and related illnesses people are becoming more and more aware of the epidemic. The extent of the AIDS crisis is only now becoming clearer in many African countries. More and more people infected with AIDS are becoming ill and die. Without expanded prevention, treatment and care efforts, it is expected that the AIDS death toll in sub-Saharan Africa will continue to rise. This means that impact of the AIDS epidemic on these societies will be felt most strongly in the course of the next ten years and beyond.

Effects of the disease continue to be evident in all sectors of society including, health, education, transport, agriculture, human resource and the whole economy. Poor African societies are most hit by the AIDS crisis and its consequences.

The AIDS problem in Africa has brought about many other problems to add to the already existing ones. More and more children are becoming orphaned and vulnerable because their parents die, the children deprived of their childhood to either take care of sick parents, play parents to younger siblings, go to work in order to live and some live in the streets.

HIV and AIDS are diseases that spread throughout the world by sexual contact. They came to the forefront of the national scene with many famous actors, singers, athletes, playwrights, and members of the arts community being infected. Formerly they were death sentences but now there are adequate treatments exists, consisting of highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART. However, these treatments are so expensive.

Several trends indicate that this disease is increasing in staggering numbers and within the next 20 years, will reach truly epidemic proportions, said Dr. Marcus A. Conant, clinical adjunct professor at the University of California at San Francisco, speaking at the 2009 American Academy of Dermatology in San Francisco March 7th. “Currently, 58,000 individuals become infected with HIV each year, the same number as the total number of American soldiers who died in all the years of the Vietnam conflict.”

“But the numbers are increasing and are bound to increase more. For example 20% of black males in New York between the Ages of 40 and 49 are infected. And only a small number know they are infected.”

Why is this number increasing? First and foremost, sexual behavior patterns. In years gone by, individuals were monogamous. Now, many individuals have more sexual partners, and often have more than one within a short period of time.

Second, circumcision prevents the spread of aids. Less individuals are circumcised.

Third, drug usage affects sexual behavior. Years gone by, cocaine and heroin were the drugs of choice in the sexually active communities. Now, methamphetamine is much more in vogue. It’s a stimulant, and under its influence, young adults have several sexual encounters. “Couple that with Viagra, and Viagra is most commonly used in young adult males, and you have a critical situation,” says Conant.

Fourth, immigration from affected nations is increasing to the United States and people are not screened.

Which states and cities will be involved? The Southern United States -California, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Missouri (the meth capital of the United States) and large cities like Chicago and New York.

What can be done to avoid this disaster? Public education, use of condoms, and adopting a different attitude. “Permissiveness is causing this to spread.” “Preachers can take a more active role”.

Africa has been a place having the highest number of HIV/AIDS patients on the world. nfected truck drivers transmitted the disease to bar workers and the disease was then spread to others in the community. Reviewing the reasons causing the disease in Africa, people found that the disease will spread throughout the southern United States soon for similar reasons. Therefore, to prevent this epidemic, The United States need to learn from this experience.