U.N. Report Outlines Devastating Cross-Sectoral Impact of AIDS
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Wednesday, October 22, 2003
A report released yesterday by the U.N. Population Division of
the Department of Economic and Social Affairs said HIV/AIDS will
continue to have devastating consequences for decades to come for
virtually every sector of society and that in many countries the
disease is undermining achievements of the U.N. Millennium Devel-
opment Goals.
Download "The Impact of AIDS" as Adobe PDF file (108 pp. 4.2 MB!):
http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/AIDSimpact/AIDS_PAPER_PART_ONE.pdf
The Impact of AIDS documents the effects of HIV/AIDS on families
and households, agricultural sustainability, business, the health
sector, education and economic growth. More than 42 million peo-
ple worldwide are now living with HIV/AIDS. To combat the spread
of the disease, the report calls for strong national leadership,
increased resources, prevention services and improved strategies
for treatment and care of the afflicted (U.N. release, Oct. 21).
There was also some encouraging HIV/AIDS news yesterday. BBC Bra-
sil reported that the number of HIV infections in South Africa
declined for the first time, according to a study published by
the African Journal of AIDS Research. Researchers documenting a
drop in the HIV infection rate among South Africans aged 15-49
over the last six years projected a prevalence rate in 2010 of
15.2 percent. The rate in 2001, by comparison, was 17.3 percent
(BBC Brasil, Oct. 21).
Also, speaking in London, former South African president Nelson
Mandela and members of the rock bands the Eurythmics and Queen
launched 46664, a new AIDS awareness service. The organization's
name is taken from Mandela's prison number during his 18 years on
South Africa's Robben Island. Callers to the group's phone ser-
vice and visitors to its Web site http://www.46664.com/ can make
donations and hear a new song about Mandela, penned by some of
rock and roll's leading figures (Paul Majendie, Reuters, Oct. 21)
Another gain came yesterday when the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention announced it will commit $15 million over
five years to establish a Global AIDS Program office in Beijing
as part of efforts to combat the spread of the disease in China.
According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Preven-
tion, HIV/AIDS is spreading at an annual rate of 30 percent
(China Daily/China Internet Information Center, Oct. 21):
http://www.china.org.cn/english/2003/Oct/77953.htm
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