Did You Know....AIDS in Africa

At the end of 2007 there were over 2 million children living with HIV. 2 million people died of AIDS in 2007. Of those 2 million one in every 7 were children. Every hour, 31 children die of AIDS.

Africa already had a high infant death rate, but over the years the death toll started to decrease, when AIDS spread throughout Africa it sent the infant death rate back to an increase. The transmission rate from mother to child has been almost eliminated in high income areas because of their ability to get the antiretrovirals needed. This is not the case for those in Africa in low income areas who are barely getting the medication needed for themselves.

9 out of 10 of the children living with HIV are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Mother to child transmission isn't the only way that children are getting HIV. There is a myth that was circulating in Africa that the way to cure HIV was to have sex with a virgin, which led to multiple rapes of young African girls by HIV-positive men. Also teenagers are having sex at a younger and younger age. 15% of those surveyed reported having sex at 15 and younger.

Lack of proper healthcare and the unwillingness to educate people in low-income areas about the risks and how HIV is transmitted, to me are the biggest reasons why so many people are getting HIV and we can change that if we just take the time to educate everyone on something that can happen to and affect anyone.