AIDS and Malaria: Threats to Third World Individual Security

 

Disease in the developing countries of the world is a serious issue. According to this article, there are millions of people that die from AIDS and Malaria every year. Because of how advanced modern medicine tends to be in developed nations, most of these fatalities come from developing nations. With such a large number of people in these nations struggling to survive or attempting to avoid to remain uninfected, there is little time for these countries and individuals to focus on developing and improving their quality of life. They focus primarily on their own individual survival, however with the mortality rate of these diseases in the developing world, their chances of contracting the disease are still very high, and death is nearly assured if they contract these diseases.




The fact that citizens of developing nations have to fear silent killers such as these diseases is a terrible disadvantage to development. In addition to the sometimes constant civil wars that plague developing countries which also hinder development, they have to worry about contracting a deadly disease as well. The fact that no individual can feel safe within the boarders of their own country is a huge detriment to the development process. When people feel safe, they are free to pursue their interests and to better themselves more so than if their primary concern is their own survival day-to-day. This leads to development of human capital, which transforms into increased physical capital. When individuals feel safe, they can utilize this capital to better their own quality of life, as well as those around them by providing goods and services to one another. If an individual's government cannot provide the basic feeling of being safe to people, non of this will occur.

A vicious cycle is created because of these diseases. As I stated earlier, in conjunction with the threat of physical violence that most of these countries face from rebel groups fighting against the government (often times because of the horrible condition the state is in from corruption and non-development, which these diseases contribute to), individuals have to worry about contracting diseases like Malaria and AIDS. Therefore, no one has time to develop human and physical capital, no one can be cured of or endure these diseases, people die from the diseases, thus making other people worry about contracting these diseases, and the cycle then repeats itself. The only way for people in the developing world will be able to make it out of this cycle will be by help from an outside source, be that in the form of money, humanitarian organizations, or education on how the diseases function. All three of these solutions come from the outside, from nations who have made it through the difficult part of development already. Of those three solutions, the most important one is education on how to avoid contraction, and how to treat the disease if contracted. If these developing nations can avoid contraction, they will be able to start the long journey forward.