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A Regional Problem?
By no stretch of the imagination can it be said that AIDS is exclusively a problem for Africa. This disease has spread to every corner of the globe. However, it is undeniable that AIDS has ravaged Africa. AIDS has claimed more lives in Africa than anywhere else on the planet. Throughout much of the world the number of cases of AIDS, and the number of people dying from AIDS, has stabilized and even decreased. Unfortunately, this is not the case in much of Africa.
Bono presents the argument that the rest of the world cannot simply stand back and watch Africans continue to die from AIDS. It is the responsibility of these nations to assist in the battle against AIDS in Africa. Although it is a problem that is located in Africa, it is not merely an African problem. Nations with sufficient resources have developed strategies of treatment and prevention. They have taken care of their own people. Bono argues that it is the responsibility of these nations to take care of the people of Africa as well, and that they should share the fruits of their advanced medicine, science, and technology with Africans.
Do you agree with Bono’s contention that we are all citizens of the planet and that the problems faced by a portion of the world should become the concern of the rest of the world? Or can it be said that AIDS is a public health problem that is confined mainly to Africa, and thus it is the responsibility of Africans to solve it? Is it realistic for the United States to take care of the millions of people in the U.S., as well as those on the continent of Africa? Are you comfortable in subscribing to the proposition that wealthier nations have an obligation to assist poor nations with problems that might not otherwise be solved? What does the United States have to gain from helping to address the AIDS problem in Africa?
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