Bereavement and HIV/AIDS

Sub-Saharan Africa is the hub of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with South Africa not only an avid contributor to the epidemic in lieu of infection rates but a leader in researching the management and treatment of the virus. Bereavement is an interesting and pivotal aspect of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Unfortunately it is one that has been overlooked if not often neglected with regard to management and treatment of bereaved HIV positive individuals. People die on a daily basis from AIDS and with that comes the grieving and mourning of loved ones, family and friends. If every AIDS victim left behind four grieving individuals, with a population of 5,24 million infected people, we would have 20.96 million grieving individuals. That would be 41.93% of the South African population. In light of this, research on Bereavement and HIV/AIDS has been long overdue. Studies on Bereavement and HIV/AIDS would provide us with important information in not only designing relevant HIV interventions but also in managing the frail and preoccupied minds of those that have lost a loved one to the disease, and by so doing reducing the risk of them either transmitting the disease or becoming infected themselves