AIDS in Africa

Of the many diseases and epidemics that dot human history, none have been as controversial as AIDS, and few have been as deadly. In the two decades since the HIV virus was first identified, AIDS has progressed from a disease of homosexual men and intravenous drug users that many people regarded as unimportant to one of the biggest global health concerns of the 21st century. "HIV/AIDS has succeeded in joining people around the world in a common consciousness of its threats and implications" (Barnett & Whiteside, 2003:4). This common consciousness has lead to widespread attention to and support for prevention and treatment initiatives. Through intensive education programs and public health campaigns, many developed nations have managed to curtail the spread of AIDS, but fear and cultural norms continue to fuel the rampant increase in AIDS infections in many developing countries, particularly in southern Africa.

No nation or population has been isolated from the effects of the global AIDS epidemic. AIDS now affects every continent except Antarctica, and millions of people continue to be infected each year. As of December 2004, more than 39 million people worldwide are currently living with HIV or AIDS, an estimated 2.2 million of them under the age of 15 (UNAIDS 2004). AIDS claimed 3.1 million lives in 2004, adding to the estimated death toll of 20 million victims worldwide since AIDS first appeared in 1981(Avert 2005). While the main methods of AIDS transmission were once male-to-male sexual contact and sharing needles, most new cases today are contracted through heterosexual sex, and women account for a growing number of cases. The rate of infection among women is increasing, particularly among older teens and young adults, and women currently account for almost half of all people living with AIDS. Transmission from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding is responsible for more than 600,000 new infections annually, a number than continues to grow as the number of women carrying the AIDS virus grows.