The numbers are staggering. AIDS has proven to be the worst pandemic in the world’s history and has created the highest concentrations of widows and orphans that have ever been. This preventable and treatable disease is destroying a whole generation of Africans and orphaning another. These are not just numbers, they are mothers, children, and fathers.
Worldwide:
Every day, over 6800 persons become infected with HIV and over 5700 persons die from AIDS. UNAIDS 2008 report on AIDS.
Number of people living with HIV in 2007
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33.2 million [30.6–36.1 million]
People newly infected with HIV in 2007
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2.5 million [1.8–4.1 million]
AIDS deaths in 2007
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2.1 million [1.9–2.4 million]
Sub-Saharan Africa
In 2007, this subregion accounted for almost a third (32%) of all new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths globally, with national adult HIV prevalence exceeding 15% in eight countries in 2005 (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Nowhere else has national adult HIV prevalence reached such levels.
Adults and children living with HIV
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22.5 million [20.9 million–24.3 million]
Adults and children newly infected with HIV
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1.7 million [1.4 million–2.4 million]
Adult and child deaths due to AIDS in 2007
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1.6 million [1.5 million–2.0 million]
South Africa
South Africa is the country with the largest number of infections in the world. A few key factors have contributed to this country having the highest number of AIDS sufferers in the world. The effects of apartheid, misinformation from the government, the fear of testing and disclosing status due to terrible stigma, and other cultural factors have all played a part in the devastating effect that AIDS has had on this nation.
Young women in South Africa face greater risks of becoming infected than men. Indeed, among 15–24-year-olds, women account for about 90% of new HIV infections
Adults and children living with HIV
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5.7 million [4.9 million-6 million]
Adults and children newly infected with HIV
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unknown
Adult and child deaths due to AIDS in 2007
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350,000 [270,000 -420,000]
Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa (KZN)
KZN is considered the AIDS epicenter of the world due to its high incidence and prevalence rates. LSA has laser focused our efforts on the greater Thekwini region of KZN which includes the Embo district and the metro Durban District. This region has the highest reported concentration of HIV infections on the planet.
Adults and children living with HIV
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3.9 million
More than half (55%) of all South Africans infected with HIV reside in the KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces.
UNAIDS reports that in Kwazulu-Natal there are districts with prevalence rates as high as 51% among women of childbearing age. The Medical Research Council (MRC) in South Africa has reported that prevalence rates are as high as 66% in the Embo region of KZN, which is where LSA focuses its efforts.
