South Africa

According to the most recent reports 57% of individuals are living below the poverty line in South Africa. Limpopo and the Eastern Cape have the highest proportion of the poor, with 77% and 72% respectively. The Western Cape has the lowest proportion of poverty rates. Furthermore, the rift between the rich and the poor has widened.

The main reason for this widened gap has been intensified because of racial inequality.

The inappropriate use of force by police has been an ongoing human rights issue. For instance, many report police using rubber bullets upon peaceful demonstrations, unnecessarily injuring some protesters.

Another human rights issue that plagues South Africa is violence against women and children. Between April 2004 and March 2005 55,114 rapes and attempted rapes were reported. The real number is probably significantly higher because a number of them go unreported.

Another issue exists in rural communities. Many people living in these areas face obstacles in accessing their rights to health care and social services. For example, public schooling is becoming more available and enrollment continues to increase; however, schools in poor areas contain inadequate facilities such as: insecure buildings, lack of water, and unhygienic sanitation facilities. Some children must walk up to 30 kilometers to and from school. This leaves many vulnerable to sexual predators and many drop out because just physically getting to school is so difficult.

The prevalence of HIV is severe in South Africa. Most recent reports reveal that 5.5 million people live with HIV and approximately 1000 deaths take place everyday.

Also, 1.2 million South African children are orphaned due to AIDS.

The diversity that exists within South Africa impedes education about HIV/AIDS. The demographics consist of: 75% black, 13% white, 3% white, and around 9% mixed racial heritages. South Africa has 11 official languages with a myriad of dialects. AIDS awareness campaigns are often unsuccessful in changing people’s behavior through a lack of efficient communication.

One of South Africa’s prevention strategies is voluntary counseling and testing (VCT). With the knowledge that they are HIV positive, sexual behavior may be modified to further prevent the spread of the disease. VCT services cater to young people and pregnant mothers among others. However, one problem is men are less likely than women access VCT services. Because a stigma exists if a person carries HIV, they would rather not know their status. Other men see this knowledge as a burden, seeing no value in knowing such information.

Nevirapine is an antiretroviral drug proven to be effective and economical in reducing the transmission of HIV from mothers to babies. Currently, all pregnant women infected with HIV have access to this drug at almost every hospital, health center, and clinic in the country. But the government has been accused of failing to monitor the program correctly. In addition, problems continue to exist over some pregnant women still not being able gain access to the drug.

Young people are most severely affected by AIDS in South Africa. Heterosexual sex is the most common way of transmitting HIV; however, the rate of infection between men who have sex with men is rising. Other vulnerable populations include women who are often victims of sexual abuse and rape. Prejudice exists toward people who live with HIV. It is seen as a disease of the poor. Discrimination is not uncommon toward HIV infected individuals.

Human and economic development issues are the main cause for South Africa’s most pressing environmental concerns. For example, the use of coal for electricity generation has contributed largely to air and water pollution. Over 90% of South Africa’s electricity generates from the combustion of coal and leads to harmful matter in the air and acid rain. However, despite these problems, these industrial centers are not required to use coal scrubbers to remove harmful ingredients like sulfur because doing so would significantly raise prices for electricity consumers.

Also, because it is a country in the midst of rapid industrialization, environmental degradation and the loss of biodiversity are urgent problems. Several populations, such as the mollusk, fish, seabird, and mammal populations, are at risk of extinction. Oil-spills are especially common around the coast of South Africa because many ships travel from the Middle East to the Americas and Europe.

Oil refineries also contribute largely to air pollution. As a result, sulfur dioxide and other harmful substances are released into the air. Vehicular emissions are also a source of air pollution, especially because unleaded gasoline is unavailable in South Africa. Emissions control technology is nonexistent and the use of older vehicles compounds the problem. On top of all that, there are no vehicle emissions legislation to curb this growing problem.

Human health has been adversely affected due to these environmental problems. According to one study conducted in 2000, respiratory infections were the fourth-largest cause of death in children under 5. Access to clean drinking water and safe food are ongoing issues.

South Africa has addressed many of these issues; however, many problems remain. The central environmental policy-making body in South Africa, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT), developed the White Paper on Environmental Management which provides a framework for modern environmental policy. Air, water, marine pollution, waste management, deforestation, energy efficiency, and the conservation of biodiversity issues are addressed. In addition, South Africa is a part of more than 40 international environmental treaties including. Renewable energy sources are actively being developed. Long term plans, such as public transportation systems, are still in need of attendance.

30% or 6-8 million adults over 15 years old are not literate. In addition, teachers in township schools are not trained adequately.

One reason for this high number of illiteracy is the “liberation now, education later” position during the anti-apartheid struggle. As a result, the culture of learning and teaching in schools and universities was damaged. The process of rebuilding education and retraining teachers is laborious and slow, but progress is being made.

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