HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ethiopia
Healthcare access is a vital component in the general development of health globally and a necessary human right. While acceptability and access to improved care are complicated concepts that associate directly with socio-ecological forces individual forces are well known to impacting HIV care significantly. Some of these factors that affect individual care include poverty level, low awareness of healthcare options and the lack of immediate initiation of healthcare treatment (FDRE, 2014). Ethiopia being a developing state socio-economic variance level that involves wealth disparities in distribution, resources access as well as income affects individuals when it comes to accessing quality care and information (AHO, 2014). Socio-economic stability is normally measured in reference to the combination of occupation, income, and education.
Since most individuals in Ethiopia exists under low socio-economic levels this implies that they are subjected to poor education, housing, and health which affects their ability to acquire HIV treatment on time. In addition, quality information that is customized for the understanding of these individuals groups that have not acquired the literacy level is usually a challenge (Etharc, 2017). Knowledge is of particular significance when it comes to health care access as it acts as the guide in making sound and responsible decision. In addition, healthcare resources are usually distributed unequally due to the scarcity and this affects the potential for individuals to acquire immediate treatment. Income is the primary socio-ecological individual force that has contributed to the spread of HIV in Ethiopia and hindered the general ability of the state to achieve efficiency in prevention. Due to low income, the highest population that is affected by HIV is subjected to poverty which generally implies that treatment initiation is delayed and as compared to the well-off patients their chances of survival are minimized (Etharc, 2017). In addition, reduced access to HIV preventive and health insurance services contributes highly to the disparities amid the wealth and the poor individuals.
References
African Health Observatory. (2014). Analytical Summary- HIV/AIDS. Retrieved from http://www.aho.afro.who.int/profiles_information/index.php/Ethiopia:Analytical_summary_-_HIV/AIDS
Etharc. (2017). Impact of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. Retrieved from http://www.etharc.org/oromia/resources/kit/ARTInfotoolkit.pdf
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. (2014).Country progress report on the HIV Response. Retrieved from http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/country/documents/ETH_narrative_report_2014.pdf
