AIDS, one of the main problems in Africa. But who did go deeper in the information before coming to Africa than just knowing that there are a lot of HIV/AIDS carriers in Africa? Don’t think that a lot of people know the exact details. So I thought it would be smart to inform you about the disease.
Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world. An estimated 24.5 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2005 and approximately 2.7 million additional people were infected with HIV during that year. In just the past year, the AIDS epidemic in Africa has claimed the lives of an estimated 2 million people in this region. More than twelve million children have been orphaned by AIDS.
Both HIV prevalence rates and the numbers of people dying from AIDS vary greatly between African countries. In Somalia and Senegal the HIV prevalence is under 1% of the adult population, whereas in South Africa and Zambia around 15-20% of adults are infected with HIV.

In four southern African countries, the national adult HIV prevalence rate has risen higher than was thought possible and now exceeds 20%. These countries are Botswana (24.1%), Lesotho (23.2%), Swaziland (33.4%) and Zimbabwe (20.1%).

West Africa has been less affected by AIDS, but the HIV prevalence rates in some countries are creeping up. HIV prevalence is estimated to exceed 5% in Cameroon (5.4%), Côte d’Ivoire (7.1%) and Gabon (7.9%).

Until recently the national HIV prevalence rate has remained relatively low in Nigeria, the most populous country in Sub-Saharan Africa. The rate has grown slowly from below 2% in 1993 to 3.9% in 2005. But some states in Nigeria are already experiencing HIV infection rates as high as those now found in Cameroon. Already around 2.9 million Nigerians are estimated to be living with HIV.

Adult HIV prevalence in East Africa exceeds 6% in Uganda, Kenya and
Tanzania.

What is the effect of these high levels of HIV infection?

Over and above the personal suffering that accompanies HIV infection, the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa threatens to devastate whole communities, rolling back decades of development progress.

Sub-Saharan Africa faces a triple challenge of colossal proportions:

· Providing health care, support and solidarity to a growing population of people with HIV-related illness, and providing them with treatment.

· Reducing the annual toll of new HIV infections by enabling individuals to protect themselves and others.

· Coping with the cumulative impact of over 20 million AIDS deaths on orphans and other survivors, on communities, and on national development.

How can HIV transmission be prevented?

HIV can be transmitted in three main ways:

· Sexual transmission

· Transmission through blood

· Mother-to-child transmission

Wherever there is HIV, all three routes of transmission will take place. However the number of infections resulting from each route will vary greatly between countries and population groups.

For each route of transmission there are things that an individual can do to reduce or eliminate risk. There are also interventions that have been proven to work at the community, local and national level.

To be successful, an HIV prevention programme must make use of all approaches known to be effective, rather than just implementing one or a few select actions in isolation.

A lot of people fit into only one "risk category". For example, injecting drug users need access to condoms and safer sex counseling as well as help to reduce the risk of transmission through blood.

How can you prevent getting AIDS?

When having sex:

You can eliminate or reduce the risk of becoming infected with HIV during sex by choosing to abstain from sex or delay your first time. By being faithful to one partner or have fewer partners. And the easiest: condomise, which means using a male or female condom consistently and correctly.

Blood transfusion and needles:

You can prevent getting infected by HIV by using your own needles every time you need one. Which means that you buy your own needle cit at the drugstore or hospital and always take it with you when leaving for a trip. This is because when anything happens to you during your trip, you are sure that the needles are sterile.

Mother-to-child transmission:

As already mentioned in the text about “When having sex” you shouldn’t have unprotective sex, but when you do so – for example if you want to get pregnant – first test yourself and your partner that you both aren’t HIV infected.

For more information you can visit www.avert.org. This website can give you all the information you need concerning HIV/AIDS around the world. Statistics and all.

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