HIV in the world

HIV in the world

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that, by the end of 1996 approximately 8.4 million cases of AIDS had occurred world-wide amongst adults and children****

Some areas of the world are particularly badly affected: eleven million infections have occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. The epidemic is spreading fastest in South and South-East Asia, with the estimated number of infections doubling in two years (from 1.5 million in mid-1993 to 3 million in mid-1995). Throughout the world, the numbers of men and women infected are roughly equal.

HIV mainly affects young adults and people in early middle age. These are the people who raise the children, support the elderly and build the country's economy. The many lives lost in this age group has had a serious effect on the economy of some countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The world-wide, cumulative total of HIV infections for men, women and children could reach 30 million by the year 2000, of which 9 out of every 10 are likely to be in the non-industrialised world. WHO estimates that 5-10 million children may have lost their mother or both parents to AIDS by this date.