U.N.: AIDS May Kill 80M Africans by 2025

[tsly]

By ANTHONY MITCHELL, Associated Press Writer

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - More than 80 million Africans may die from AIDS (news - web sites) by 2025, the United Nations (news - web sites) said in a report released Friday, and infections could soar to 90 million ? or more than 10 percent of the continent\'s population ? if more isn\'t done soon to fight the disease.

 More than 25 million African have been infected with HIV (news - web sites), the virus that causes AIDS. UNAIDS (news - web sites) estimated that nearly $200 billion is needed to save 16 million people from death and 43 million people from becoming infected, but donors have pledged nowhere near that amount.

In its report, \"AIDS in Africa,\" the U.N. agency examines three potential scenarios for the continent in the next 20 years depending on the international community\'s response.

Researchers determined that even with massive funding and better treatment, the number of Africans who will die from AIDS is likely to top 67 million in the next two decades.

\"What we do today will change the future,\" concluded the report, drawn up by some of the world\'s leading experts on HIV and AIDS. \"These scenarios demonstrate that, while societies will have to deal with AIDS for some time to come, the extent of the epidemic\'s impact will depend on the responses and investment now.\"

The three scenarios include a best-case situation, a middle-case and a doomsday scenario. They all warn that the worst of the epidemic\'s impact is still to come.

\"There is no single policy prescription that will change the outcome of the epidemic,\" the report stated. \"The death toll will continue to rise no matter what is done.\"

Under the worst-case scenario, experts have plotted current policies and funding over the next two decades.

\"It offers a disturbing window on the future death toll across the continent, with the cumulative number of people dying from AIDS increasing more than fourfold,\" it says. \"The number of children orphaned by the epidemic will continue to rise beyond 2025.\"

While there is no cure for HIV or AIDS, anti-retroviral drugs can allow sufferers to live a normal life. Such drugs, though, are too expensive for most Africans, who live on less than a dollar a day and don\'t have access to modern health care.

Experts have said donors\' money needs to be spent to train more health workers, develop better clinics and subsidize medications as well as promote more prevention programs.

AIDS already has a devastating impact on Africa.

UNAIDS has reported that life expectancy in nine countries has dropped to below 40 because of the disease. There are already 11 million orphans because of AIDS, while 6,500 people are dying each day. In 2004, 3.1 million Africans were newly infected, the agency said.

\"If by 2025, millions of African people are still becoming infected with HIV each year, these scenarios suggest that it will not be because there was no choice,\" the report said. \"It will be because, collectively, there was insufficient political will to change behavior at all levels, from the institution, to the community, to the individual, and halt the forces driving the AIDS epidemic in Africa.\"

Hundreds of experts and people living with the virus helped draw up the report.

[tsly]

This is a very serious crisis. IT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN THE WORLD

Massive resources should be devoted in eradicating AIDS. A diseases that can wipe out 10 percent of a continent from a conservative estimate is disheartening.

I think the world has to do much much more

[signopago]

I agree

[Honeybunnie]

Definitely agree witcha!, the question is how do you get everybody involved. It has to get to the grassroots, I tell you. I was watching Law and Order the other day, and in this episode, this kid contracted the virus from some lady, and all he could say in his defense after he found out, or maybe so he could feel better was \"She looked Normal\"....most people who have the virus don\'t look abnormal, and that is what is killing off most of the people in Africa. At least out here they are educated enough and are more aware and can protect themselves, but in the rural areas of the continent, which are definitely in many areas, these people don\'t even know how to protect themselves or what they\'re protecting themselves from.

My Take, the most important way to curb the spread, is EDUCATION of the people in Africa, at least the ones who haven\'t contracted it yet. VERY SAD INDEED....Definitely should be a state of emergency.

By The By, Tsly, where art thou?  8O

[fresco]

This situation in Africa should be one of the UN pirorities. The UN is not doing enough nowadays. I mean things concerning Africa are always overlooked, does it mean the continent is no longer important? I heard how Nigeria does not have a seat in the UN, that is not fair and against the UN charter. Maybe some of other African nations have no seat in the UN as well, is UN becoming discriminatory?? I wonder. So consider the number of African countries in UN, that means most of the things that affect the continent will not be settled. Let\'s take this epidemic for example, I believe the reason why it has not receieved much attention than it should have is probably because of less representation of Africans in the UN. Most often the Security Councils in the UN use the power of veto in most of the things that the UN want to pass; therefore these countries (Africa nations not much represented) will constantly affect help that UN wants to give to other continent including Africa. It is shameful that the UN is not doing enough, not to talk about the contributions made to the continent (Africa) by rich countries, which is zero.

[okey]

what ever happened to Dr. Jeremiah Abalaka, who claimed he had discovered a cure for the AIDS virus

[Honeybunnie]

Not a bad question at all.....I remember he was based in gwagwalada, Abj back then, and was always on the news. He even got published in a london journal some time. He claimed to have injected himself with the HIV virius, and after using his treatment he was completely free of the virus. Not so sure what to make of that, if he really has found a treatment, why hasn\'t it been widely publicized, or at least recognized. If he went as far as an English journal, if he\'s still not making headlines, then I doubt that his treatment has been tested or is even trusted. I think the main problem he had was that he wouldn\'t publish his findings and research, and according to him, publishing his research would only make it easy for copycats to use. Oh well!! Can\'t blame him if he\'s trying to hit the jackpot first.....

[okey]

As we all know, the money is in disease prevention and not the cure.

It\'s amazing how i never really saw an article disproving his research or cure. Yet, he has been under the radar for some time now. I even remember some US or UK senator years back travelling to Nigeria to see for himself.

Do you think his work made significant progress and some groups are trying to keep him on the hush?

[okey]

A snapshot of AIDS in Africa, from the Joint United Nations Program on AIDS:

_It is the leading cause of death on the continent.

_Sub-Saharan Africa is the most seriously affected region in the world. It is home to more than 60 percent of all people with
HIV, but accounts for just over 10 percent of the world\'s population.

_Last year, 2.3 million people in sub-Saharan Africa died of AIDS.

_An estimated 3.1 million people were newly infected with the virus that causes it.

_Females account for almost 57 percent of adults with HIV in the region. Overall, three-fourths of all infected women live in sub-Saharan Africa.

_South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV in the world.

_Life expectancy at birth has dropped below 40 years in nine severely affected countries: Botswana, Central African Republic, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

_Some countries in East Africa, such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, show signs of declines in HIV infection levels. The steepest drop was reported in Uganda, from 13 percent in the early 1990s to 4.1 percent by the end of 2003.
By The Associated Press Fri Jun 17, 3:13 AM ET