Moral Hopelessness and HIV/AIDS Global Paralysis

No disease ever in history, other than the plague of the 14th century, has caused such serious psychological and emotional distress, affecting families and communities as the AIDS pandemic. The United Nations AIDS Program (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) now estimate the number of people living with HIV/AIDS today is 40 million. More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981. At the end of 2007, women accounted for 48% of all adults living with HIV worldwide, and for 59% of those in sub-Saharan Africa. Young people (under 25 years old) account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide and about 6,000 become infected with HIV everyday (UNAIDS/WHO, 2007). Most of the infected (22.5 million) live in Africa, a continent home to only 10% of the world’s population, but shouldering over 70% of all cases and 95% of all orphans according to the UNAIDS/WHO report.