Austin Lara

Burchett
Hon. Government
10/22/2015
Mock Congress Research Paper
In 2015, more than 30 million people worldwide have HIV/AIDS. This includes more than 2
million children living with HIV, and more than 15 million who have been orphaned due to this
epidemic. AIDS has remained as one of the top leading killers the past decade causing over 1.5
million deaths in 2012. This outbreak has greatly affected development in poorer countries
especially in Africa. Currently about 3/4 of the people living with HIV/AIDS are located in the
countries within sub saharan Africa. STDs quickly spread in developing countries due to the lack
of accessible contraception and proper, if not any, sexual health education. The Lara Act of 2015,
if enacted by the Senate, will provide the necessary contraception and implement programs in
schools that will provide an understanding of one's sexual health. Its goal is to lower the
transmission rates of STDs and number of deaths. Provide programs that enforce the importance
of one's sexual health, and if successful will promote economic growth.
In developing countries HIV/AIDS has been the third leading killer in developing countries.
This has been caused by the lack of modern, if not any contraception. Access to safe, voluntary
family planning should be a right that will be ensured by a reliable supply of contraception.
According to The World Health Organization (WHO) 7 million people, dominantly in Africa, are
in need of treatment and are still waiting for access to contraception (WHO: HIV/AIDS). Among
those 7 million people, some who are unable to wait for accessible contraception could be
spreading the disease.. Access and correct usage of contraceptives have been proven to lower the

transmission HIV. HIV can also be transmitted during childbirth from mother to child. More than
2 million children are currently living with HIV, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission
(PMTCT) services have averted about 39,000 child infections and 20.000 child deaths.
According to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) adding family planning
to PMTCT programs could almost double the current child infections and deaths averted. Family
planning and reducing the frequency of unsafe sex are the goals of the implemented sexual
health programs.
It is very important that people know about their sexual health and what they may get
themselves into. The Lara Act of 2015 wants to provide young people with knowledge and
information on sexual health in order to educate them on safe sex. The World Health
Organization have estimated that over 25 million people have died due to AIDS. Many of these
cases could have been prevented if they had been given proper education. According to the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has demonstrated
that comprehensive sexual health programs have been very effective. After the introduction of
sexual health programs in Estonia nearly 4,300 unintended pregnancies, 7,200 STDs and 2,000
HIV infections were averted (Advancing Sexuality Education in Developing Countries: Evidence
and Implications). According to The Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference
on Population and Development, governments have called to provide sexuality education that
should take place both in schools and at the community level in order to foster mature decisionmaking and aim to eliminate gender inequality (UNFPA: Comprehensive Sexuality Education).
Access to sexual education and voluntary family planning is the goal of The Lara Act of 2015.
The implementation of these programs will help economies that have been decreasing in growth
due to the epidemic.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has been shown to have an effect on the economy due to its
effect on the workforce. According to The World Bank AIDS has already reversed 30 years of
hard-won social progress in some countries, averaged to reduce national growth rates by 2%4% a year across Africa. The epidemic has caused many countries to result in a lower labor force,
lower labor productivity through absenteeism and illness, and lower labor income due to the
expense of HIV/AIDS related programs (UN: AIDS Impact on Economic Growth). The
implementation of sexual health programs and easier access to modern contraception plan to
increase the productivity of the labor force by lowering the numbers of those infected by the
epidemic. Although providing contraception and these programs can potentially increase
economic growth as well as the decrease of STIs transmitted, there are still those who reject the
idea whether its because of religion or cost.
Christianity is now one of the two most widely practiced religions in Africa and the
largest religion in Sub-saharan Africa. According to BBC, for most of the last 2000 years all
Christian churches have been against artificial control, and because of this many people refuse to
use it. Thus leading into many more infected sexual activity. In the first centuries of Christianity,
contraception along with abortion were regarded as wrong because they were associated with
paganism. It was not until the start of the 20th century that some churches accepted the use of
contraception believing that the use of contraception and birth control could often lead to
stronger families and better marriages. The second largest religion in Sub-saharan Africa, Islam,
are also not big supporters of the use of contraception. Islam is strongly pro-family and regards
children as a gift from God. According to BBC, many conservative Islam leaders have openly
campaigned against the use of condoms or other birth control methods (Reynolds). Because of
these religious controversies it makes population planning in many countries ineffective.

In conclusion, the Lara Act of 2015 plans to lower the transmission of HIV/AIDS by
providing accessible contraception and sexual health education that will ultimately lower the
amount of infected people and increase economic growth.