HIV/AIDS destroying development progress in Africa

In September 1999 the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN), the European Union and the World Bank called for the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa to be recognized as a disaster, requiring an emergency response. The call was made at the 11^th conference on 'AIDS in Africa', held in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.

"Too much of Africa will enter the 21^st Century watching the gains of the 20^th evaporate", said Mr Callisto Madavo, vice -president of the World Bank African region. (Source: Anton La Guardia, 'HIV virus destroys progress in Africa', The Age, 15/9/99, page 16)

"AIDS has been around for only 20 years but it is already killing more people than any other infectious disease", said UNAIDS executive director, Peter Piot, presenting the WHO's annual report. (Source: 'AIDS cuts swath through third world', The Australian, 11-12/9/99, page 22)

In 1997 the biological hazard of HIV/AIDS was introduced in the book Hazards in the following way - "Over 90 percent of the estimated thirty to forty million people expected to be infected by HIV/AIDS in the year 2000 will be residents of developing countries. By then eight million people will have died from AIDS. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is out of control and threatens the struggling economies of these countries. The disease tends to strike the young, productive population, leaving affected nations facing huge medical costs and the loss of millions of once healthy, vigorous workers. (See page 136)

Since the above sentences were written new global statistics have been released by UNAIDS (see Figure 1 below) and it has become even more evident that the biggest impact is occurring on the African continent particularly in the vast region that is called 'Sub-Saharan Africa'. New statistics have also recently been released by the United Nations Population Division, the World Bank and the World Health Organization (See Figures 2 , 3 and 4 below)

AIDS in Africa - the disturbing picture

In Australia about 700 people have become infected with HIV/AIDS each year since 1993 - down from a peak of approximately 1700 cases in 1984. Latest figures show that in the year to March 1999, 673 Australians were diagnosed with HIV and 215 with AIDS and in the same period 139 died of AIDS.

In Papua New Guinea's capital, Port Moresby (the capital of Australia's nearest Asian neighbour) HIV/AIDS is rapidly overtaking traditionally extensive illnesses such as pneumonia and malaria as the main cause of death. The number of HIV/AIDS cases detected in PNG since notification began in 1987 is 1741. In 1998 the number of reported cases leapt by 83%. In 1999, for the first four months, 185 new HIV cases, 41 new AIDS cases and four deaths were reported. For comparison, 433 people were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the first six months of 1998 in Australia, which has a population four times greater than that of PNG - estimated as 4.4 million.

• With only 10% of the world's population Africa has 67% of global HIV/AIDS cases. Today there are 22.5million Africans infected with HIV/AIDS, and an average of more than 3,800 adults are infected with the virus every day in Africa.
• Of the 5.8 million people worldwide who were infected in 1998, 4 million are Africans.
• An estimated 90% of the world's children infected with the HIV virus live in Africa. More than eight million children in Sub-Saharan Africa have been orphaned by AIDS.
• In countries such as Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, the HIV/AIDS infection rate is more than 20% of the population between 15 and 49.
• Most of these people will die within 10 years unless life-extending treatment is made available.
• Some 95% of Africans infected with HIV/AIDS live in abject poverty, with no hope of obtaining the new miracle drugs that patients in developed countries use to combat the virus and lead comparatively normal lives.
• About 90% of all HIV transmission in Africa occurs via heterosexual sex. This is 100% preventable.
• HIV/AIDS has lowered average life expectancy levels by as much as 10-17 years in some Sub-Saharan African countries. In hardest hit Zimbabwe, AIDS has reduced life expectancy by more than 20 years.
• In the early 1980's HIV/AIDS was found mainly in the sweep of countries stretching from West Africa to Eastern Africa. At this time, countries north of the Sahara Desert and in Southern Africa apparently were untouched. In 1999, no part of the African continent is unaffected.
• HIV/AIDS has overtaken malaria and other diseases as the leading cause of death for adults between the ages of 15 and 49 in Botswana, Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is also the case in capital cities such as Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Ougadougou.
• HIV/ AIDS has spread far beyond the original sub-populations with high-risk behaviour into the general population of as many as 19 African countries.
• Up to 50% of hospital beds are occupied by HIV/AIDS patients in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is bringing about an enormous cost all over the world. This is particularly so in Africa where it is inflicting a rapidly rising social and economic toll. On this continent millions of adults are dying in their 30s or 40s, leaving behind orphaned children, overwhelmed health services and farms, businesses and schools hit by the loss of labour and skilled staff.

"If I talk to a leader of an African government today, I try to put this epidemic in perspective by telling that person, for example, that literally 10 years from now, that country will lose half of its teachers to HIV/AIDS. However the next person meeting with the leader might quickly divert the government's attention with news of the more immediate and visible effects of the most recent flood, drought or cholera epidemic. And, unfortunately those issues take precedence in the minds of policy makers. Also, as politicians with limited office terms, it is natural for them to adopt a short-term perspective in policy making, prioritizing those issues on which it's easiest to achieve progress while still in office." (Dr. Debrework Zewdie, HIV/AIDS Coordinator, World Bank in 'Governments urged to lead AIDS fight:AIDS must move to the centre of development agendas' by Peter Mwaura in Africa Recovery, Vol. 12 No. 2, November 1998, pages 9-10)

Country Adults (15-49) living with HIV/AIDS % of adult population Zimbabwe 1,400,000 25.84 Botswana 190,000 25.10 Namibia 150,000 19.94 Zambia 730,000 19.07 Swaziland 81,000 18.50 Malawi 670,000 14.92 Mozambique 1,200,00 14.17 South Africa 2,800,000 12.91 Rwanda 350,000 12.75 Kenya 1,600,000 11.64 Central African Rep. 170,000 10.77 Djibouti 32,000 10.30 Gate d‘Ivoire 670,000 10.06 Uganda 870,000 9.51 Tanzania 1,400,000 9.42 Ethiopia 2,500,000 9.31 Toga 160,000 8.52 Lesotho 82,000 8.35 Burundi 240,000 8.30 Congo Rep. 95,000 7.78 Burkina Faso 350,000 7.17 Cameroon 310,000 4.89 D.R. of Congo 900,000 4.35 Gabon 22,000 4.25 Nigeria 2,200,000 4.12 Liberia 42,000 3.65 Eritrea* 49,000 3.17 Sierra Leone 64,000 3.17 Chad 83,000 2.72 Ghana 200,000 2.38 Guinea-Bissau 11,000 2.25 Gambia 13,000 2.24 Angola 100,000 2.12 Guinea 70,000 2.09 Benin 52,000 2.06 Senegal 72,000 1.77 Mali 84,000 1.67 Niger 61,000 1.45 Equatorial Guinea 2,300 1.21 Mauritania 5,900 0.52 Somalia* 11,000 0.25 Comoros* 400 0.14 Madagascar 8,200 0.12 Mauritius* 500 0.08 Reunion* 160 0.04 Figure 4a -- Estimates of adult HIV infection in Sub-Saharan Africa (end of 1997)

Figure 4b -- Living with HIV/AIDS Source: World Health Organisation     Investigate more about this issue by searching for informative web sites. Be aware that information dates very quickly and that on this page, while still useful, is already out-of-date. The user is encouraged to find up-to-date information themselves. Investigating current and relevant issues to do with pandemics such as HIV/AIDS has been made easier in recent times through the use of the Internet. Most Internet users will be familiar with pages of links and search facilities that can be used by Web Browsers to find information. "Finding Information on the World Wide Web" is a page on this site which advises one how to hunt for information on the World Wide Web. Finding Information on the World Wide Web The following links may help you begin, but some may disappear so always do your own search. Links to information about HIV/AIDS AIDS AIDS/Ebola Author Defends Embattled African Presidents AIDS Ministries--CAM: Computerized AIDS Ministries - on-line discussions about issues related to HIV/AIDS CNN.com - Report: AIDS pandemic declared threat to U.S. national security - April 30, 2000 Emerging Infectious Diseases Home Page Global Issues: AIDS "Battling the AIDS Pandemic" Health - BBC World Service - for basic information about HIV and AIDS Monitoring the AIDS Pandemic (MAP) Network Outbreak: The Ebola Virus ProMED Mail safaids.org - the South African AIDS Information Dissemination Service The Facts - The HIV/AIDS Pandemic among Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa The Global AIDS Pandemic The Scientist - AIDS Pandemic Provokes Alarming Reassessments Of Infectious Disease UN Population Fund HIV/AIDS CLOCK - a mosaic of images that changes at the same rate as the world rate of HIV infections World Health Organization This site gives the World Health Organisation's outbreak news and covers all the disease hotspots around the globe. See also the page HIV/AIDS - what happened in 2000 and 2001? Enquiry, decision-making and action When we get involved in any enquiry, decision-making and action we must investigate all aspects of the issue. The link which follows brings a page that gives a model for enquiry, decision-making and action. Enquire, Decide, Act

Home | GAW 1997 | GAW 1998 | GAW 1999 | Links | Our World | Ongoing Issues | Feedback

Last updated
Contact webmaster@mcelroy.com.au
© McElroy Online 2001
Designed using an Acorn RiscPC 600