AIDS in Africa

AIDS has killed at least 10 times more Africans that all the armed conflicts in Africa combined, and the epidemic is now the leading cause of death among Africans of all ages.

Africa is home to 70% of the adults and almost 94% of the children living with HIV worldwide.

The epidemic is taking a serious toll on the agricultural, educational, and health care sectors in Africa, killing farmers, teachers, government workers, physicians, nurses, and other professionals.

At the same time, the epidemic is increasing business costs through higher health and life insurance expenses, lover productivity, and increased absenteeism.

Access to treatment is hindered by the high cost of antiretrovirals and the lack of adequate health infrastructure in this region.

Traditional practices such as polygamy, widow inheritance (which requires a woman to wed her late husband’s brother), increase women’s susceptibility to HIV.

Poverty also forces many African women to seek work I the commercial sex industry, and many young women have sex with older men, or “sugar daddies”, to pay for their education, clothing, and other basic needs.

Men who fear HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases often turn to children in the belief that they are less likely to be infected.

There is also a widespread myth in Africa and parts of Asia that having sex with a virgin will “cure” one of AIDS, which has resulted in a increased number of child rapes.

Population mobility and commercial sex are two of the most important factors fueling the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa.