| |
HIV/AIDS
Regional Update -
Africa
HIV/AIDS
has now infected roughly 50 million Africans
More than 22 million have died
Sub-Saharan
Africa
has just over 10 percent of the world's population but is home to more
than 60 percent of all people living with HIV
---25.8 million. In 2005, an estimated 3.2 million people in the region
became newly infected, while 2.4 million adults and children died of AIDS
.HIV/AIDS
has now infected roughly 50 million Africans since the start of the
epidemic, of whom more than 22 million have died. Eight African countries
have more than 1 million persons living with HIV/AIDS. The 21 countries
with the world’s highest rates are all in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most
worrisome, among 15-24 year-olds, 4.6% of women and 1.9% of men are
already infected. This reveals the gender dynamics of the epidemic and
foretells continued spread in the next generation.
Status
of the Epidemic
Demographic impact: Life expectancy has fallen by more than a
decade in many countries and is now likely below 40 years in the
hardest-hit. Mortality has already doubled among working-age adults in
many countries and may soon rise by 400-500%. AIDS has orphaned 12 million
African children (15 million globally) and in some countries every sixth
child has lost at least one parent to AIDS. This number is forecast to
reach 25 million by 2010, posing an unprecedented social welfare
challenge.
Millennium Development Goal (MDG) challenges:
Africa
has no chance of achieving a majority of the (MDG) until HIV/AIDS is
overcome. The epidemic is already pushing
Africa
in the wrong direction on three of the (MDG) and retarding progress toward
three others.
Commitment is growing rapidly among African leaders. Despite many
competing challenges, most countries have moved to build multi-sectoral
national HIV/AIDS programs and seek external support. Many African leaders
are now strong public advocates for action against AIDS.
Donor funding: Other multilateral, bilateral and private sector
institutions include the Global Fund Against AIDS,
TB and Malaria (GFATM),
U.S.A.
,
U.K.
, Clinton Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The HIV/AIDS and Education section of the School Health Web Site provides information, download
documents and links on many aspects of health and nutrition of school-age
children. One of the most important areas, that has been increasingly
recognized in recent years, is the impact of HIV/AIDS on school-age
children and on the Education System in general. Education is one of the
most effective preventive approaches against HIV/AIDS and can help ensure
that school age children, who have the lowest rates of infection of any
age group, can grow up free of infection. The HIV/AIDS
and Education section of the School Health web gives access
to key documents in this field, including:
The site also supports and hosts web pages for the Accelerate
Initiative: Accelerating the Education Sector Response to HIV/AIDS in
Africa.. At the request of Ministries of Education in
Africa
, member agencies of the UNAIDS Interagency Task Team for Education (IATT)
established
a Working Group to assist countries to ‘Accelerate their Education
Sector Response to HIV/AIDS’. This is a multi-partner effort, involving
countries, development partners, civil society and the private sector.
Key elements of this activity are sub-regional
and national workshops that bring together education, health
and AIDS teams to share good practices and develop more effective
strategies that result in implementation at the school level. The
workshops are a point of entry for dialogue to: promote sectional
leadership; identify gaps in knowledge and build capacity; share
information and build networks; strengthen stakeholder coordination; and
identify new resources for the sector.
The Accelerate Initiate also supports increased information sharing
and network building, withSub-regional
networks and websites
for HIV/AIDS and Education being developed in West, East, Central and
Lusophone Africa.
. An
interview with Jan Wijngaarden,
UNESCO, on the importance of education in HIV prevention for young people |
|