Let's Talk

11 Facts About HIV in Africa

Out of the 34 million HIV-positive people worldwide, 69 percent live in sub-Saharan Africa. There are roughly 23.8 million infected persons in all of Africa.
91 percent of the world’s HIV-positive children live in Africa.
More than one million adults and children die every year from HIV/AIDS in Africa alone. In 2011, 1.7 million people worldwide died from AIDS.
Since the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, more than 60 million people have contracted the illness, and over 30 million have died from an HIV-related cause.
71 percent of the HIV/AIDS-related deaths in 2011 were people living in Africa.
Antiretroviral drug treatments can tremendously decrease the number of HIV-related deaths by delaying the progression of the virus and allowing people to live relatively healthy, normal lives.
Due to an insufficient supply of antiretroviral drugs and health care providers in 2010, only 5 of the 10 million HIV-positive patients in Africa were able to receive treatment.
Because of HIV/AIDs, the average life-expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa is 54.4 years of age. In some countries in Africa, it’s below 49.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic has drastically slowed the economic growth and social development in Africa, because hundreds of thousands of people are unable to work or receive an education.
Contraceptive use of condoms has doubled in recent years because it is an inexpensive provision to offer to both the HIV-positive and negative. However, the method is void when couples are hoping to conceive children or have already engaged with infected persons.
If a pregnant woman is not treated with the proper antiretroviral drugs, there is a 20-45 percent chance that her infant will contract the virus from her during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. Because 59 percent of HIV-positive people in Africa are women, the vast majority of children diagnosed with HIV have had the virus passed from their mothers.