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Nowhere has the
impact of HIV/AIDS been more severe than sub-Saharan
Africa. 25 years ago, AIDS was virtually unknown
in Africa. Yet AIDS is now the number one killer
disease in sub-Sahara Africa, surpassing malaria.
According to UN AIDS, an estimated 1.7 million
adults and children in sub-Saharan Africa became
infected with HIV during the year 2007. Additionally,
1.6 million people died of AIDS-related illness
in Africa in 2007.
Since the start of the epidemic, over 42 million
people have been infected with HIV in sub-Saharan
Africa. Although there is growing controversy
over the effectiveness of HIV tests, and the accuracy
of these figures, there is no doubt that AIDS
is spreading rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa.
- It is estimated that, 22.5 million people
are currently living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan
Africa. That is two-thirds of HIV/AIDS cases
reported globally.
- At the national level, the 21 countries with
the highest HIV prevalence are in Africa. In
at least 8 African countries (Botswana, Lesotho,
Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa,
- Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe) HIV/AIDS prevalence
rates among adults exceed 15 percent as of 2005.
- At the individual level, the arithmetic of
risk is horrific. In Zimbabwe and Botswana,
one in four adults carries the virus. A child
born in Zambia or Zimbabwe today is more likely
than not to die of AIDS.
- There are 15 million children orphaned by
AIDS Worldwide, 11.4 million of them in sub-Saharan
Africa.
- Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for almost a
third (32%) of all new HIV infections globally
in 2007.
- Unlike other regions, the majority of people
living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa (61%)
are women.
- In 2007, an estimated 2.1 million people
died of AIDS worldwide, of which 76% occurred
in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Southern Africa accounts for 35% of all people
living with HIV globally, and almost one third
(32%) of all new HIV infections and AIDS deaths
globally in 2007
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In short, as a result
of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, much of Africa has entered
the 21st century watching the gains of the 20th
evaporate. Tragically, mass killers are nothing
new in Africa. Malaria still claims about as many
African lives as AIDS, and preventable childhood
diseases kill millions of others. What sets AIDS
apart, however, is its unprecedented impact on regional
development. Because it kills so many adults in
the prime of their working and parenting lives,
it decimates the workforce, fractures and impoverishes
families, orphans millions, and shreds the fabric
of communities.
The huge gap in HIV infection rates and AIDS deaths
between Africa and the rest of the world is likely
to grow even larger. Massive national and international
efforts are needed to end the stifling silence that
continues to surround HIV in many countries, to
explode myths and misconceptions that translate
into dangerous sexual practices, to expand prevention
initiatives such as condom promotion that can reduce
sexual transmission, to create conditions in which
young children have the knowledge and the emotional
and financial support to grow up free of HIV, and
to devote real money to providing care for those
infected with HIV and support to their families.
A trail of successful responses has already been
blazed by a small number of dedicated communities
and governments. The challenge for the leaders of
Africa and their partners in development is to adapt
and massively expand successful approaches that
make it harder for the virus to spread, and that
make it easier for those affected to live full and
rewarding lives.
Source: UNAIDS, Africa.com
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