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The Problem of Aids in Third World Countries

 

            Many Third World countries, particularly Africa and India, are finding themselves in a downward spiral where overpopulation, infectious diseases, water shortages and shrinking cropland are escalating out of control. In some African countries, the AIDS infection rate is as high as one in every four individuals. The governments of these countries do not have the resources or the funds to provide preventative education and the necessary medical treatment to its infected citizens. Although birth rates have declined slightly, mortality rates in underdeveloped nations are on the increase. The life expectancy in Bostwana has fallen from 61 years in 1990 to 44 years in 1999. Furthermore, life expectancy in this country is projected to fall to a mere 39 years by the year 2010. .
             Water shortages combined with overpopulation in India are producing the same ill effects on this country as the AIDS epidemic is having in Africa. Technological advances in India have enabled this country to obtain water faster and more efficiently by pumping it through aquifers. However, water is currently being pumped out of these aquifers twice as fast as rainfall is filling them. Logic tells us that this type of situation cannot continue indefinitely into the future. .
             Many developing nations are finding the amount of land available for farming is decreasing. This is caused mainly by two factors. First, population in these countries is increasing at an alarming rate. As the population increases, the amount of land per person decreases. Furthermore, as these countries grow, more schools, hospitals, and infrastructure will be needed these individuals, thus decreasing the amount available for crops. Because the income level in these countries is so low, inhabitants cannot readily rely on imports for food but must depend on self-sufficiency. Estimates project that once available land is reduced to 600 square meters, it drops below the point where people are able to feed themselves.


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