What is the benefit to the US to provide meds to HIV/AIDS patients in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Question

Since "cash is king", what is the economic benefit to the US to provide AIDS drugs and eliminate the debt to Sub-Saharan African countries. This is for a research paper, so please cite your source.

FYI I'm not the one who needs an economic benefit to save people's lives. If I had the resources, I'd give everyone what they needed. Unfortunately, Americans, especially politicians worship money and wouldn't save their own grandmothers without seeing the economic benefit. If we want to get people on board to do as much good as possible, we have to appeal to money-worshippers, not just humanitarians. It may seem like a heartless question, but we live in a society where primary decision-makers are heartless people. Why else would we spend $10M on a toilet to go up in space while people in our own backyard are going to bed hungry? So please, save your self-righteousness for someone who needs it.

Answer 1

Actually, this is a very valid question. If people would see beyond the implied injustice/indifference, more would question what's going on in their names.

I am based in Africa, so the following is based on what I see, NOT what I agree with. Some main benefits to the "developed countries" (will substitute this for 'US' as it's not a single country to which this question applies):

1) easy travel means HIV/AIDS is no longer an "African problem". So the entire world now has a stake in this, if not for the present situation, for what may/will likely happen in the future.

2) regarding debt relief, no one gives anything for free in politics. If the benefit is not economical (e.g. access to raw minerals, oil, etc.) it's political support of one form or another.

3) HIV drugs: this is where I can speak from. Drug companies and trials. There are trials going on in Africa (and other impoverished countries I'm sure) that would NEVER be approved by medical ethics committees in most developed countries. Here you have almost unlimited 'supplies' of test subjects for various drugs for management of HIV/AIDS-related conditions, and for attempts to develop a cure/vaccine. And they're the 'perfect' candidates under 'perfect' conditions: poor, more likely than not illiterate & uneducated, and living under political systems that could care less about their rights as long as each person involved in making the relevant decisions gets their share of the cake.

So it all boils down to money & political power. It's not just the US, it's the world. This is the capitalist world I'm afraid, with it's goods and bads.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Scion- economic factors play a big role.Poor people cannot afford Condoms. Promiscuity is high.Circumcision is low.This can reduce HIV by 60%. In south Africa African Liberation Movement claimed that Anti HIV campaigns were aimed at reducing the Black birth rate. There was a popular belief that having sex with underage girls reduced the rate of HIV. Natural healers were consulted instead of Orthodox clinics and Doctors. Treatment was late .Retrovirus could not be afforded.Theft of retrovirals was endemic.

Answer 3

Good question regarding the "economic benefits" of helping Sub-Saharan Africa...I'm sure it's more of a humanitarian benefit, as someone else said, but it seems as though a profit is still being made, due to the prices that pharmaceutical companies place on their drugs.

Here are some sources, though:

http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/Africa/AIDS.asp


http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Corporations/AIDS.asp

http://www.afrol.com/Categories/Health/health051_aidsdrug_price.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_company

Answer 4

For starters, an increase in the number of infected people would increase the chances of the disease spreading to more Americans, as our society is now very mobile.

Secondly, if we do not help, it will increase the instability in the countries of Africa. This will lead to wars and social uprisings, all of which are very costly to stop. If they are not stopped, they could create unfriendly, powerful, resource rich enemies. In a similar vein, charitable work decreases feelings of hostility, and sharing resources reduces the chance of rallying groups to commit terrorist acts against us.

Give a man to fish, you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. Do nothing, and he will eventually steal your fish.

Answer 5

there is probably no economic benefit, but a huge humanitarian one in saving lives of these real human beings, just like you and me, who happened to be born in Africa. If you need a source I refer to the Bible, "love your neighbor as yourself", "do unto others as you would have others do unto you".

Answer 6

Hell if i know they need to solve all the aids here first,I dont know why there always trying to save other places and not our own some one answer that?!!!!!

Answer 7

The benefit is to help people. Try it one day, it might make you feel good.

Answer 8

google it or go to the library

Answer 9

I HAVE SEEN SOME INSENSITIVE QUESTIONS ASKED BEFORE BUT YOURS RISES ABOVE THEM ALL....YIKES.