Spatial Patterns of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) In the Accra Metropolitan Area (AMA)

Abstract

Nearly two decades into the outbreak, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has spread throughout sub-Saharan Africa with complex spatio-temporal variability within countries Based on epidemiological evidence, several broadly distinctive HIV/AIDS prevalence patterns have been reported reflecting a variety of factors such as sophistication in surveillance systems, political attitudes, openness towards recognition, and release of AIDS information. This thesis examines the geography of clinical AIDS in the Accra Metropolitan Accra (AMA) using epidemiological evidence. Available data on contacts and sexually transmitted disease histories of infected people are used to reconstruct AIDS dispersal from geographical perspectives to ascertain the spread patterns in Accra. It is observed that the epidemic has become more diffused and has spread from among the initial 'high risk groups’ to the general population Reported evidence points to a possible increase in intensity in the coming years since the co-factors (e g STD, unsafe sex) and the forces (e g poverty and increasing mobility) that impel the spread of the epidemic persist In the absence of a medical cure, a major public health problem and a generalised spread pattern are predicted if there are no social interventions.