Statistic of HIV/ AIDS in the World, Sub Saharan African and Uganda

In the known history of the world no disease has spread and reproduced in such a deadly way as HIV and AIDS. By the year 2010 the deaths from HIV will rival those of the bubonic plague, killing in excess of 93 million people (Global Heath Council, 2004). HIV and AIDS have become a global pandemic which does not permit ignorance.

By the end of the 2004 there were an estimated 39.4 million people living with HIV or AIDS worldwide. 2.2 million of these people are children under the age of fifteen and 17.6 million are women (UNAIDS/WHO, 2004). The developing world accounts for more than 96% of the HIV population (GHC, 2004) with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 23.1 million alone. That is nearly 59% of the world HIV population on one continent.

The ongoing and growing crisis of HIV/AIDS is leaving an ever larger and sweeping problem in its wake. As the labour force of sub-Saharan Africa is decimated it leaves behind economic crisis, an older generation unsupported and a younger generation orphaned. There are currently 12.1 million AIDS orphans in Sub- Saharan Africa alone equating to 80% of the worlds children who have been orphaned by AIDS. Add to this the number of orphans created by ongoing civil, tribal and national wars, and the number rises to more than 34 million (UN, 2005). This is too much for any society to cope with in traditional ways, let alone a society eroded by AIDS.

The problem continues to grow, by the year 2010 UNAIDS (2004) predicts that an additional 45 million people will become infected with HIV in low and middle-income countries. As the number of orphans grows exponentially in correlation with the HIV infection rate, there is a predicted orphan population in excess of 25 million in sub- Saharan Africa by the year 2010.

The primary mode of infection for the more than 2 million infected children in the world today is mother to child transmission (van Dyk, 2001). Antiretrovirals (ART) significantly reduces this risk, but less than 1% of the women who require the life saving therapy have access to it. At least a quarter of newborns infected with HIV will die before they reach the age of one year and 60% before
their second birthday (GHC, 2004).

ART regimes are often presented as the solution to AIDS; however, they can be complicated, expensive and have many side effects. Although relatively successful in the battle against HIV, they are not a cure. The main aims of ART are improved quality of life and extended life expectancy. However, their function is impeded by non or poor adherence to the regime for which the reasons are varied, complicated and expensive to combat. Non-adherence can prove deadly as the HIV virus mutates and builds resistance quickly, rendering ART’s powerless.

Uganda is one of the worlds least developed countries. It is resource poor with an estimated 90% of it population living in rural area’s. It has a current population of 24.7 million (census 2002) and an orphan population of over 2 million set to rise to 3.5 million by 2010 (UNICEF, 2002). This creates an environment in Uganda where 10% of their population are Orphans, and the percentage will only rise.

Complicating Uganda’s HIV/ AIDS problem further is the lack of access to health care. The poor health infrastructure leaves 51% of the countries rural population without access to any form of health care (WHO, 2005). Education in prevention is the most effective weapon there is against HIV and with no effective means to teach this, the majority of Uganda’s population is still at risk of infection, and these infections go untreated.

Northern Uganda’s situation is further complicated by 19 years if ongoing civil war affecting around 2.3 million people (WHO, 2005). The conflict between the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and government backed militia is described as a war of “children against children” (IRN, 2002). The LRA have abducted over 12.000 children since 2002 and countless thousands before that. Of those abducted it is estimated that 20% are young girls forced into marriages or given as rewards to those in senior positions. Some of these children are managing to escape but of those who do around 50% have some type of STI (frequently HIV), and among those in captivity for longer the infection rate increases to 85% (AVERT, 2005).

Uganda is often held up as a beacon of hope in the battle against HIV. Having seen a drop in prevalence from 15%, or 21% in pregnant women in 1991 (UNAIDS, 1991) down to an average prevalence of 6.2% across the population (Ugandan AIDS commission, 2003). Uganda’s success however, does not go unmarred; they now have to cope with the consequences of a sweeping epidemic and the complications of ongoing infections.

HIV is a disease requiring ever more input and resources from and for people spanning the world. In this way only can we hope to help the countless millions daily having their lives altered by course of this terrible disease.