Diffusion Of Aids In Africa

Nick Fox

Sub-Saharan Africa is the hardest hit region in the world where AIDS threatens to decimate entire populations. Although the region has 10% of the world's population, it accounts for 63% of people living with HIV/AIDS. Of the estimated 2.1 million AIDS-related deaths in 2006, 72% of them were in Africa. Although the epidemic has stabilized in the region, this means that the numbers of people who are dying from AIDS. Twenty-five years into the epidemic, there is still no cure for AIDS. Information remains our most crucial weapon in the war against AIDS virus. But is the provision of information successful in combating this terrible disease? The results are mixed. There have been some successes, most notably in Uganda, where the prevalence of HIV/AIDS has dropped from estimates as high as 30% in some areas to as low as 5%. While a few other countries show some small gain in the fight against the disease ,most continue to report increasing rates of new infections an deaths, despite the targeted efforts of information and communication campaigns. Sub-Saharan Africa is faced with numerous challenges and is characterized by high population growth, an increasing HIV/AIDS than anywhere else in the world although it accounts for only 10% of the world population, it has 63% of the PLWHA. 72% of the estimated 2.1 million AIDS-related deaths in 2006 were in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 380,00 children who died in 2006 of AIDS, 87% (330,000) were in Sub-saharan Africa. Although the epidemic has stabilized in the region, this means that the numbers of people who are newly infected with HIV are still roughly equivalent to the number of people who are dying from AIDS. There are regional variations of AIDS patterns within Sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS can be considered as multiple, regional epidemics. In East Africa, Uganda has had the greatest gradual decline in prevalence rates, combating the problem through information and communication campaigns aimed at prevention. Infection rates for HIV/AIDS in Uganda have dropped from estimates of 18.5% in 1995 to 6.7% in 2005. These declines , however, may be deceiving, they may be the results of mortality statistics rather than a real drop in incidence.But stabilization does not necessarily mean the epidemic