The 10 most important events for AIDS in Africa
1. 1930s: The first form of simian (primate) immunodeficiency virus transfers to humans in Central Africa, it later becomes known as HIV-1. The virus would go on to be the most prevalent strain of AIDS
2. 1960s: The virus of HIV-2 transfers to humans from Sooty Mangabey Monkeys in West Africa. This strain is very rare to be found anywhere on the planet outside of Africa.
3. 1983: AIDS is heterosexually transmitted between a group of Africans in Belgium. This case was an early confirmation of a later myth that claimed AIDS was prevalent only in Homosexual men or women.
4. 1984: Western Scientists acknowledge the fact that Heterosexually transmitted AIDS is widespread throughout Africa. On April 23rd of 1984 Scientists found a virus which they believed to have been the cause of AIDS which was also sweeping through America.
5. March 20th 1987: Zidovudine, the first antiretroviral drug(AZT) is licensed for treatment of HIV patients, but it isn’t able to be properly distributed in Africa due to poverty. AZT however wouldnt be widely accepted in South Africa until early 2002.
6. 1996: Effective therapy drugs are now easily obtained in the western world but are way too expensive for AIDS infected Africans. Thabo Mbeki the leader of South Africa at the time criticized these drugs claiming they were toxic.
7. Sept. 11 1998: A drug called Nevirapine, claims to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. One of the rare side effects to this new drug was a life threatening rash.
8. 2000: It is recorded 2/3 of 15 year olds in Botswana are very likely to die of Aids before 50. At that time there were 1.3 million cases of teen AIDS out of 34.3 million people with AIDS.
9. January 2002: Botswana begins a program to treat AIDS patients and become the first country to do so in Africa. The program was free but didn't last very long due to funding.
10. 2005: At the G8 Summit, the core leaders from the 8 biggest economically sound countries in the world met and pledged to double aid to help fight AIDS in Africa by 2010. The 8 core countries there were the US, UK, Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Russia with 6 other invited countries.
2. 1960s: The virus of HIV-2 transfers to humans from Sooty Mangabey Monkeys in West Africa. This strain is very rare to be found anywhere on the planet outside of Africa.
3. 1983: AIDS is heterosexually transmitted between a group of Africans in Belgium. This case was an early confirmation of a later myth that claimed AIDS was prevalent only in Homosexual men or women.
4. 1984: Western Scientists acknowledge the fact that Heterosexually transmitted AIDS is widespread throughout Africa. On April 23rd of 1984 Scientists found a virus which they believed to have been the cause of AIDS which was also sweeping through America.
5. March 20th 1987: Zidovudine, the first antiretroviral drug(AZT) is licensed for treatment of HIV patients, but it isn’t able to be properly distributed in Africa due to poverty. AZT however wouldnt be widely accepted in South Africa until early 2002.
6. 1996: Effective therapy drugs are now easily obtained in the western world but are way too expensive for AIDS infected Africans. Thabo Mbeki the leader of South Africa at the time criticized these drugs claiming they were toxic.
7. Sept. 11 1998: A drug called Nevirapine, claims to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. One of the rare side effects to this new drug was a life threatening rash.
8. 2000: It is recorded 2/3 of 15 year olds in Botswana are very likely to die of Aids before 50. At that time there were 1.3 million cases of teen AIDS out of 34.3 million people with AIDS.
9. January 2002: Botswana begins a program to treat AIDS patients and become the first country to do so in Africa. The program was free but didn't last very long due to funding.
10. 2005: At the G8 Summit, the core leaders from the 8 biggest economically sound countries in the world met and pledged to double aid to help fight AIDS in Africa by 2010. The 8 core countries there were the US, UK, Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Russia with 6 other invited countries.