HIV in South Africa

HIV/AIDS in South Africa is a prominent health concern; South Africa is believed to have more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country in the world.

The 2007 UNAIDS report estimated that 5,700,000 South Africans had HIV/AIDS, or just under 12% of South Africa's population of 48 million. In the adult population the rate is 18.5%. The number of infected is larger than in any other single country in the world. The other top five countries with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence are all neighbours of South Africa.

In 2010, only 88% of people in South Africa with advanced HIV/AIDS were receiving anti-retroviral treatment (ART). In 2004, 2005 and 2006 the figures were 4%, 15% and 21% respectively. By 2009, nearly 1 million or about 2% of all adult South Africans were receiving ART.

In 2010, an estimated 280,000 South Africans died from the effects of HIV/AIDS. In ten years preceding, it is estimated that between 42% and 47% of all deaths among South Africans were HIV/AIDS deaths. However, the Death Notification Forms Survey of 2010, which estimates a 93% completion rate, shows that out of a total of 543,856 deaths nationwide (Appendix C4), only 18,325 deaths were attributed to HIV/AIDS Diseases (B20-B24, Table 4.5).

Although new infections among mature age groups in South Africa remain high, new infections among teenagers seem to be on the decline. HIV/AIDS prevalence figures in the 15–19 year age group for 2005, 2006 and 2007 were 16%, 14% and 13% respectively.

The Human Sciences Research Council, a South African institution, estimates 10.9% of all South Africans have HIV/AIDS. Additionally, the Central Intelligence Agency estimates that 310,000 individuals died in South Africa from HIV/AIDS in the year 2009. The rising prevalence rate has increased from 10.6% in 2008 to 12.2% in 2012. In 2012 alone, the Human Science Research Council (HSRC), reported 470,000 new diagnoses—or nearly 1,100 new infections every day. That's 100,000 more than was seen just one year earlier in 2011. Driving these statistics is the decreasing, rather than increasing, public knowledge about HIV. According to the HSRC report, only 26.8% of the 38,000 people surveyed understood how HIV was transmitted or ways to prevent it. That's down from 30.3% in 2008, with evidence showing that South Africans under 50 are having an increasing number of sexual partners and lower condom use.

According to the latest data from UNICEF, Eastern and Southern Africa currently have 5% of the world’s population but 50% of people living with HIV. The region also has 48% of new HIV infections among adults, 55% among children, and 48% of AIDS related deaths. South Africa alone has 5.6 million people living with HIV, or 17.3% of its population. More specifically, the Southern-Africa sub-region is the most severely affected by the epidemic. Three of the countries in this region have the highest prevalence rates in the entire world. Swaziland is the highest at 26%, Botswana has 23.4%, and Lesotho has 23.3% (UNICEF).

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