Of course, the immediate reaction that comes to mind when one gets to read such shocking medical reports about the Aids virus is that there is possibly something the medical fraternity is not doing right in dealing with this contagious medical condition. How can this be possible when awareness of educating communities about the virus has been intensified?
Millions have been planted in educational campaigns in a bid to highlight the dangerous consequences of a sexually reckless lifestyle. It is disappointing that despite all the efforts to educate people about HIV/Aids, scores continue to be infected by the disease.
The question now is: If one million people living in Johannesburg alone are infected with HIV/Aids, what are the figures in other towns and cities around Joburg?
According to a report by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s data visualisations of HIV epidemic in Africa, almost one in five (17 per cent) of South African adults aged between 15 and 49 have HIV – a five percentage point increase from 2000.
The report reveals that a total of 5.3 million South Africans under the age of 50 are HIV-positive, according to a study by IHME, recently published in the journal Nature.
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IHME tried to break down the number of people with HIV across 46 African countries to help policymakers focus their efforts on fighting the epidemic.
The study found South Africa’s HIV adult prevalence rate was much higher than most other countries, including Kenya (5.6 per cent), Nigeria (3 per cent), Namibia (13.8 per cent), Zimbabwe (13.5 per cent) and Mozambique (11.9 per cent). But South Africa’s high rate is partly because more people are living longer with HIV due to antiretroviral therapies.
The University of the Witwatersrand professor Francois Venter explained this by saying the epidemic was not worsening.
“Seventeen per cent sounds about right for South Africa. More people on HIV treatment are living longer,” he said.
University of KwaZulu-Natal pharmacologist Andy Gray agreed.
“I do not think SA’s epidemic is getting worse. Prevalence would also be expected to increase as mortality drops because of antiretroviral therapy. More people with HIV are living longer,” Gray said.
The highest prevalence in Africa was the uMgungundlovu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, where Pietermaritzburg has almost three in 10 people with HIV (29.7 per cent).
The district municipality with the lowest percentage of adults with HIV is West Coast District Municipality, which includes the towns of Malmesbury, Clanwilliam, Langebaan and St Helena Bay.
In Johannesburg, 466 000 adult residents between the ages of 15 and 49 have HIV. KwaZulu-Natal has the most residents in the age bracket with HIV – 1.4 million.
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The provinces with the highest prevalence rates in SA are Mpumalanga (20.9 per cent), Free State (21.3 per cent) and KwaZulu-Natal (24 per cent). The Western Cape (10 per cent), Northern Cape (11.5 per cent) and Limpopo (13.2 per cent) have the lowest rates.
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