Chapter 18 : The Sociology of the Body: Health and Illness and Sexuality

This chapter on the sociology of the human body has focused on issues surrounding health and sexuality. Without question, these two topics come together in discussing the contemporary HIV/AIDS pandemic. In this chapter you've read about the social patterns of the HIV infection, both in the United States and globally. In the 2004 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic , the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that nearly 38 million adults and children around the world are living with HIV/AIDS. In this exercise you will learn more about the nations that have been hardest hit by HIV/AIDS.

Part I:

As noted in your text, Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, is the region most seriously affected. Table 1 provides you with information on the top 30 HIV/AIDS Countries (both in Africa and outside Africa), as of the end of 2003. As you can see, the percentage of the population that is infected with HIV is higher in the 15 nations within Africa than those outside.

Writing Assignment 1:

As you look at the countries listed here, what characteristics are shared by all of them? In which regions of the world are they located? In terms of the framework used in your text to describe global stratification, what is their level of development? What social factors do you think have contributed to the spread of the infection among their populations?

Part II:

When a significant portion of a society's population becomes infected with HIV/AIDS, there is no question that it will have a major impact on that society. Asdemonstrated in many nations across the African continent, with the rising incidence of the infection , there is a decline in life expectancy, a slowdown in economic growth, worsening poverty, and growing food shortages. To learn more about how HIV/AIDS impacts individuals and societies, read Chapter 3 in the 2004 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic .

Part III:

In this final part of the exercise, you are going to research the factors associated with the incidence of HIV/AIDS as well as the strategies for fighting this pandemic associated with individual nations. Of the 30 countries listed in Table 1, randomly select two; you might want to include countries from both inside and outside of Africa. You can obtain more information about the individual countries, including information about the country's response to HIV/AIDS, at the website for the Population Reference Bureau .

To research your selected countries, follow these steps:

1. Begin by clicking on the link "Data by Country," listed on the left margin of the webpage.
2. On the "Data by Country" page, scroll down until you locate your selected country and then click on the link.
3. Browse through the page that opens up. Here you will find a wealth of information about the social, political, and economic life of the country. Take some time to explore not only the data presented in the tables, but also the many links that are provided. In particular, you might want to click on the links for the "HIV/AIDS Country Profile" prepared by the USAID Office, as well as "WHO Country Health Info."

When you have finished, you can use Table 2 to record some of the information you've researched using the information found at the Population Reference Bureau website. The table has cells with specified information that you should fill in, but if you find other statistics or other information that you think is also important, be sure to include that as well.

Part IV:

Writing Assignment 2/Essay:

Prepare a paper or presentation for your sociology class on the incidence, impact and response of individual nations to HIV/AIDS. In preparing your material, be sure to include discussion about the connection between global stratification and the incidence of the disease by exploring why the top 30 countries in terms of the prevalence of the disease are among the world's poorest countries. You should also consider the multiple ways in which the disease affects families, local communities, and societies by talking about issues such as recent declines in life expectancy and economic development or the growing food shortages in some nations hit hard by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Finally, you should consider some of the economic and social factors like marriage patterns, poverty, illiteracy, or inadequate access to health care, that are associated with the incidence of the disease.