Jim : It is estimated, today, that 10-20% of people in South Africa, across the board, have HIV/AIDS with many whites already being affected. That must be about 4-8 million. However, in certain parts of SAf (KwazuluNatal), and also Zimbabwe and Zambia we already hear of figures as high as 50%. I don't know anything about Tanzania but the population of Uganda (almost next-door) has already been decimated. In SAf, already there are thousands of AIDS orphans --- kids who have lost both parents to AIDS. This is probably a disaster as great as AIDS itself.
So, talking about Sub-Saharan Africa, I would say that +/- 20% of everyone being affected would be a reasonable guess. Of course, since the disease strikes the sexually active ones between 15 and 35 years of age, I would imagine the incidence in this group could be as high as 40%. In fact, I'm surprised that 100% don't have it.
The next 10-20 years will see a major disaster in this neck of the woods with actually millions dying. Between AIDS, tropical diseases, TB, malnutrition, violent crime and also war the outlook for the locals is extremely poor. |
