Africa bears heavy AIDS burden, hope ahead

[Guest guest]

Details about AIDS in Africa

Africa bears heavy AIDS burden, hope ahead

As World AIDS Day is marked, about 33.3 million people around the world have the

human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, according to the latest

figures from the United Nations.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region most heavily burdened by HIV/AIDS, but

there are signs that efforts by the global health community and national

governments are starting to slow the epidemic and may be able to turn it around.

The United Nations AIDS program (UNAIDS) said in a report in September that

between 2001 and 2009, new HIV infections fell by more than 25 percent in 22

countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Here are some details about AIDS in Africa, based on the latest UN data from

2009.

* AIDS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA:

* An estimated 22.5 million people with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, around

68 percent of the global total.

* About 34 percent of all people with HIV live in the 10 countries of southern

Africa.

* An estimated 1.8 million people were newly infected with HIV in sub-Saharan

Africa in 2009, down from 2.2 million in 2001. An estimated 1.3 million people

in the region died from AIDS-related causes in 2009.

* Between 2004 and 2009, AIDS-related deaths fell by 20 percent in sub-Saharan

Africa.

* South Africa is home to the world's largest population of HIV-infected people,

with 5.6 million.

* With an adult prevalence of 25.9 percent, Swaziland has the world's most

severe level of infection.

* Nearly 37 percent of adults and children in sub-Saharan Africa who were

eligible for AIDS drugs received them, compared to just 2 percent in 2002.

* In 2009, 54 percent of pregnant women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa

received antiretroviral drugs to prevent transmission of HIV to their children,

up from 15 percent in 2005.

* National HIV prevalence in Kenya fell from about 14 percent in the mid-1990s

to 5 percent in 2006. Between 2002 and 2007, AIDS-related deaths in Kenya fell

by 29 percent.

* Since 2001, HIV prevalence in Uganda has stabilized to between 6.5 percent and

7 percent, while in Rwanda, it has been at approximately 3 percent since 2005.

* In Botswana, treatment coverage exceeds 90 percent and the estimated annual

number of AIDS-related deaths fell to 9,100 in 2009 from 18,000 in 2002.

http://www.buenosairesherald.com/BreakingNews/View/52808

[Guest guest]

Details about AIDS in Africa

Africa bears heavy AIDS burden, hope ahead

As World AIDS Day is marked, about 33.3 million people around the world have the

human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, according to the latest

figures from the United Nations.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region most heavily burdened by HIV/AIDS, but

there are signs that efforts by the global health community and national

governments are starting to slow the epidemic and may be able to turn it around.

The United Nations AIDS program (UNAIDS) said in a report in September that

between 2001 and 2009, new HIV infections fell by more than 25 percent in 22

countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Here are some details about AIDS in Africa, based on the latest UN data from

2009.

* AIDS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA:

* An estimated 22.5 million people with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, around

68 percent of the global total.

* About 34 percent of all people with HIV live in the 10 countries of southern

Africa.

* An estimated 1.8 million people were newly infected with HIV in sub-Saharan

Africa in 2009, down from 2.2 million in 2001. An estimated 1.3 million people

in the region died from AIDS-related causes in 2009.

* Between 2004 and 2009, AIDS-related deaths fell by 20 percent in sub-Saharan

Africa.

* South Africa is home to the world's largest population of HIV-infected people,

with 5.6 million.

* With an adult prevalence of 25.9 percent, Swaziland has the world's most

severe level of infection.

* Nearly 37 percent of adults and children in sub-Saharan Africa who were

eligible for AIDS drugs received them, compared to just 2 percent in 2002.

* In 2009, 54 percent of pregnant women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa

received antiretroviral drugs to prevent transmission of HIV to their children,

up from 15 percent in 2005.

* National HIV prevalence in Kenya fell from about 14 percent in the mid-1990s

to 5 percent in 2006. Between 2002 and 2007, AIDS-related deaths in Kenya fell

by 29 percent.

* Since 2001, HIV prevalence in Uganda has stabilized to between 6.5 percent and

7 percent, while in Rwanda, it has been at approximately 3 percent since 2005.

* In Botswana, treatment coverage exceeds 90 percent and the estimated annual

number of AIDS-related deaths fell to 9,100 in 2009 from 18,000 in 2002.

http://www.buenosairesherald.com/BreakingNews/View/52808