Title: Out from the margins: Putting populations key to the AIDS pandemic at the heart of the fight against AIDS.

POPLINE Document Number: 314847

Author(s):

O'Reilly J

Source citation:

Contact, 2006 Aug;(182):12-14.

Abstract:

At the end of 2005 an estimated 38.6 million [33.4 million--46.0 million] people worldwide were living with HIV. In the same year an estimated 4.1 million [3.4 million--6.2 million] became newly infected with HIV and an estimated 2.8 million [2.4 million--3.3 million] lost their lives to AIDS. Despite having just over 10% of the world's population, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to more than 60% of all people living with HIV -- some 25.4 million -- and AIDS is the leading cause of adult morbidity and mortality. Without a rapid increase in the HIV response most if not all of the people living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa will have died by 2020. Statistics mask a deeper truth about HIV which points to important issues about inequality, vulnerability and how best to fight the disease. The global AIDS epidemic is composed of many small, often overlapping epidemics that reflect different patterns of risk and vulnerability. The burden of HIV does not fall evenly across the world but concentrates its impact on regions and populations, exacerbating the impact of poverty, marginalization and human rights violations. As a result, within countries some groups are disproportionately affected by HIV. (excerpt)

Keywords:

Africa, Sub Saharan
Critique
Evaluation
Persons Living With HIV/AIDS
Target Population
Men Having Sex With Men
IV Drug Users
Sex Workers
Prisoners
HIV Infections
Risk Assessment
Human Rights
Developing Countries
Africa
Viral Diseases
Diseases
Program Design
Programs
Organization and Administration
Sex Behavior
Behavior
Drug Use and Abuse
Crime
Social Problems
Sociocultural Factors
Political Factors