FACTS

AIDS in South Africa from the HOKISA website :

In the years between 1990 - 2000, 12 million people have died of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. A quarter of them were children. In South Africa, in a population of 42 million, an average of 350 women, children and men die of AIDS-related illnesses every day at present.

If that rate were applied to other countries, it would represent 2250 AIDS-deaths every day in the USA (where there are 27 actual deaths). In Germany, 700 would die of AIDS every day (actually 1.6) and in the Netherlands 140 (actually 0.5). More than 50% of South Africa's population is aged 16 and younger. Even if the country were free from AIDS, this would represent a most formidable challenge in terms of the provision of education and training. It is a task made immeasurably more difficult by the fact that more and more children are orphaned by the epidemic.

Many of these children and youths are themselves infected with the virus or are already ill. There are an estimated 250.000 - 300.000 AIDS orphans in South Africa at present - and this will increase to 2 million in the coming years. The storm will break for all to see - not only in hospitals and cemeteries but also in city streets.

With access to the results of the Nelson Mandela Study of 2002, the Department of Health Study of 2003, and the results of many smaller surveys, UNAIDS/WHO make their own estimate of 21.5% prevalence in those aged 15-49 years old, at the end of 2003. Their high and low estimates are 18.5% and 24.9% respectively. According to their own estimate of total population size (which is another contentious issue), this implies that around 5.3 million South Africans were living with HIV at the end of 2003, including 230,000 children under 15 years old.