Closing the Gap:
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Robin Pals-Rylaarsdam, Biology Department, Trinity Christian College
Closing the Gap:
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In 1980, Magic Johnson was at the top of his basketball game, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA championships. Today, Magic is one of the most famous people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHAs). Like most Americans infected with the HIV virus, Magic is currently taking a combination of anti-viral drugs known as Highly Active AntiRetroviral Therapy, or HAART. These drugs target the virus at two different stages of its life cycle. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors, like AZT and 3TC, inhibit the production of DNA from the viral RNA that is released into the cell upon infection with the virus. Without production of DNA, the virus cannot make more copies of its genome, and thus cannot produce an active infection. Protease inhibitors, like Indinavir, work at the tail end of the viral life cycle. These drugs prevent the production of mature viral proteins and so prevent the assembly of new viruses that can infect other cells.
HAART is able to reduce the levels of HIV below detectable limits in patients who properly take the drugs and maintain these low levels of virus for years. Although these drugs are expensive, most Americans infected with HIV can find ways to purchase the drugs through assistance programs or their own health insurance, allowing the PLHA to live a productive life for many years after infection.
Unfortunately, the majority of PLHAs worldwide currently have little access to HAART. The therapy is too expensive for citizens in the countries most affected by the epidemic. In his 2003 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush asked Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years to an Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in the countries most affected by HIV/AIDS—nations in Africa and the Caribbean. On May 27, 2003, the President signed the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003, which authorized the funding.
This case study examines the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. You will analyze possible ways to invest the $15 billion allocated and develop a prioritized list of needs for a specific country in Africa—namely, Botswana. Before beginning, you should have already read the Wall Street Journal article on the crisis in Botswana as background for this project (“Botswana Sees Economic Rise Leveled by Raging AIDS Crisis,” Wall Street Journal, August 29, 2002).
What facts are needed to develop a humane and effective foreign policy statement for U.S. aid to Botswana? For example, how is the AIDS crisis different in the developed world versus sub-Saharan Africa? As a group, list possible differences that must be considered when fighting AIDS in the two populations. Develop as many questions as you can in five minutes. Be as specific as you can. An issue of importance may be subdivided into several different questions. You may already know the answers to some of the biology-related questions.
The questions will be divided among the groups, who will return the next class period to report their answers to the entire class.
Date Posted: 07/23/03 nas
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