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HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa
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There are 180,000 AIDS orphans in South Africa alone
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Southern Africa is the focus of this program with good reason. Data from UNAIDS show that sub-Saharan Africa is disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. The most recent UNAIDS/WHO estimates show that 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. Of this total, 29.4 million, or 70%, reside in sub-Saharan Africa. Four southern African countries (Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe) now have national adult HIV prevalence rates exceeding 30%.
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Vital Statistics
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In Botswana, 38.8% of adults are infected with HIV
About 6500 Africans die daily from HIV/AIDS
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About 800,000 children <15 years of age became infected with HIV during 2002, and 610,000 died. In addition, many children are being orphaned by HIV, losing their mothers or both parents to AIDS. So far, the AIDS epidemic has left behind over 13 million orphans, of which 95% live on Africa. Typically, half of all people with HIV become infected before they turn 25, acquiring AIDS and dying by the time they turn 35, leaving behind a generation of children to be raised by their grandparents, or left on their own in child-headed households or on the street.
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In Africa, HIV has spread rapidly along routes of migratory labor and trade
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Education and training of African health professionals is essential to improving the health, well-being and longevity of millions of individuals with HIV/AIDS. Education and training are necessary prerequisites to establishment of capacity for HIV care and treatment and clinical research southern Africa.
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800,000 infants and children were newly infected with HIV in 2002 alone
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The Bristol-Myers Squibb SECURE THE FUTURE initiative is a unique program that has broad implications for fostering cooperation and collaboration between Africans and Americans to the benefit of HIV-infected individuals worldwide, and the Physician Exchange Program is an integral part of that effort.
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