The impact of HIV & AIDS in Africa
Two-thirds of all people infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, although this region contains little more than 10% of the world’s population.1 AIDS has caused immense human suffering in the continent. The most obvious effect of this crisis has been illness and death, but the impact of the epidemic has certainly not been confined to the health sector; households, schools, workplaces and economies have also been badly affected.
During 2008 alone, an estimated 1.4 million adults and children died as a result of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.2 Since the beginning of the epidemic more than 15 million Africans have died from AIDS.3
Although access to antiretroviral treatment is starting to lessen the toll of AIDS, fewer than half of Africans who need treatment are receiving it.4 The impact of AIDS will remain severe for many years to come.
The impact on the health sector
In all heavily affected countries the AIDS epidemic is adding additional pressure on the health sector. As the epidemic matures, the demand for care for those living with HIV rises, as does the toll of AIDS on health workers. In sub-Saharan Africa, the direct medical costs of AIDS (excluding antiretroviral therapy) have been estimated at about US$30 per year for every person infected, at a time when overall public health spending is less than US$10 per year for most African countries.5
The effect on hospitals
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Nurses working on the HIV ward at Kisiizi Hospital in Uganda
As the HIV prevalence of a country rises, the strain placed on its hospitals is likely to increase. In sub-Saharan Africa, people with HIV-related diseases occupy more than half of all hospital beds.6 Government-funded research in South Africa has suggested that, on average, HIV-positive patients stay in hospital four times longer than other patients.7
Hospitals are struggling to cope,