| HIV/AIDS: Sub-Saharan Africa remains by far the region worst affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. An estimated 25-28.2 million adults and children living with HIV/AIDS are in the region. Ten million of these are young people (aged 15-24) and almost 3 million are children under 15. Two-thirds of the young people living with AIDS are female. That amounts to 66% of the world’s cases. In the year 2003 alone, approximately 2.3 million people died of AIDS. Last year, 3.5 million more Africans became infected, about 7 new people every minute. Deaths resulting from the AIDS epidemic to date in Africa have reached an estimated 17 million. It is believed that the number in Sub-Saharan Africa will soon surpass the 20 million mark. A child dies of AIDS every minute globally. Nearly 12 million children in Africa are AIDS orphans. It is estimated that the numbers may reach 40 million globally by the year 2010. There are now more women than men living with the virus in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 55% of all HIV-positive adults are women. AIDS not only has taken an enormous toll on life, it has also had a devastating impact at all levels in Africa. It has destroyed families, communities, social and economic safety. Information from UNAIDS.org |
