1) What is the biomedical description of the public health issue? If the issue is not biomedical, describe how the issue is related to public health. 

2. How does this issue impact an individual's quality of life? How does it impact communities? If issue is not biomedical, how does it impact the health of a community or population?

3. How many people are diagnosed with this health issue every year? If not biomedical, how many people are impacted by the issue every year? 

4. Estimated costs for this public health issue including the cost of medical care, lost productivity, etc.?

 

            While there has been significant progress in the treatment and research against Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), millions of people still die from the sickness every year. HIV attacks the immune system by attacking cells that fight against diseases and infection. Contrary to what most people think, HIV is not only passed through sexual intercourse and contact, but also through blood, breastmilk, and other bodily fluids. In total, over 70 million people have been infected with HIV, 33 million of which have died as a result of the sickness. The easy transmission and lack of cure for HIV makes it a public health crisis and poses a threat to everyone, especially those in vulnerable sectors

Once caught, HIV will permanently affect an individual’s life due to the lack of cure. HIV will weaken a person’s immune system and make them more susceptible to other kinds of diseases. While there are ways now to keep HIV under control, it is still definitely difficult to constantly worry about getting sick because of one’s weakened immune system. At the same time, HIV affects communities due to the ability of the virus to be transmitted easily, especially during early stages of acquiring the sickness.This means that even children can get sick if they acquire this from their mother through breastfeeding.

In 2020, around 1.5 million people contracted HIV, raising the total number of infected people to 38 million. While there has been a 30% decline in total infections since 2010, millions of people around the world still suffer from the virus. This affects not only them, but also their families.

The average cost of medical expenses for persons with HIV averages around $420,000 in their whole lifetime as yearly treatment is around $15,000-20,000 on average. That results in a huge sum of money that must be allocated by both the government and necessary systems as well as personal savings and funding to care for a person with HIV. Those affected by the virus would also initially have hampered productivity and adjustments to lifestyle.