HIV and AIDS have ravaged the continent of Africa for decades and it is ranked one of the poorest regions as far as care and prevention services associated with the disease. The future of this disease can be hard to explain because of the vast differences between the different countries in Africa. The UNAIDS Report is a global report that comes out once a year and contains current updates on the status of HIV/AIDS. The
2010 report states that the overall growth of the disease has decreased and new cases of HIV have decreased over the last year as well. Sub-Saharan Africa is obviously a huge part of the data for the report and a map in the report shows that the region is either stable or decreasing in its prevalence of the disease. This is not to say that AIDS isn't still very prevalent in the area but it is either not increasing or is reducing as compared to the past. With the vast amount of aid Africa is receiving and the improvements in technology and healthcare this trend is expected to continue. On another, non-Africa related point, there is an area on the map that is actually increasing in HIV/AIDS prevalence (this is worth noting because it proves the point that the whole world isn't better off than Africa as far as the disease is concerned). Eastern Europe and Central Asia have seen increased cases of HIV over the past year and this may be due to the fact that many still consider AIDS to be an "African" disease.
The report also includes a table that shows the countries affected and how they stand now as far as condom use and sexual behavior (unfortunately I was unable to copy the image). This again paints a hopeful look for Africa with countries such as Cameroon, Uganda, and the United Republic of Tanzania all showing a decreasing trend in having sex without condoms and in having more than one sexual partner within the last year.
The report does state that while the new cases of HIV are going down the total number of people living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa continues to rise. This conflicting information can best be explained when you think about the fact that the number of new cases has been increasing for many decades and although they are decreasing now the total number is still growing year and year because of this past trend. The fact that the rate is decreasing though provides hope that the overall rate will decline over time after the new infection rate decreases even more.
More Facts from the 2010 Global Report:
* Women in Sub-Saharan Africa are still the most infected group of women in the world.
*"Unprotected paid sex, sex between men, and the use of contaminated drug-injecting equipment by two or more people on the same occasion" are the most significant reasons for the HIV epidemics in several Sub-Saharan countries.
*Kenya and South Africa are the Sub-Saharan countries with the largest HIV prevalence among 'men having sex with men'.
*Injection drug use is a new trend in Sub-Saharan Africa and while it does account for some of the spread of the disease it does not account for enough to make it the top factor in the increase of the disease.
