Swaziland shows signs of turning corner on world's highest HIV rates

published on September 23, 2013 in Reuters

(Reuters) - Swaziland, the country hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, appears to be stemming the pace of new infections thanks to increased funding, more efficient treatment and greater international help, public health workers said.

On a global basis, the rate of HIV infection and the number of AIDS-related deaths have been dramatically reduced, thanks to expanding access to treatment, the United Nations said in a report issued on Monday.

Swaziland has a high incidence rate with about a quarter of the adult population and 40 percent of mothers infected with the virus. Life expectancy in the country of about 1.4 million has dropped from about 60 in the 1990s to 49 in 2012 - one of the lowest in the world, according to U.N. agencies.

"We are in the stabilization phase of the epidemic and seeing the first signs of a reduction on new HIV infections," said Elias Pavlopoulos, the head of the Swaziland Mission with the international aid group Médecins Sans Frontières.

Jon Herskovitz
Reuters
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© Copyright BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
St. Paul's Hospital 608–1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-8477 | Fax: 604-806-9044
General inquiries: info@bccfe.ca
Media inquiries: communications@bccfe.ca
(Please do not use any of these email addresses to send personal information or book an appointment. To book appointments or contact the H2H clinic, please call 604-416-1517 or fax: 604-564-4893. Do not send your or your client's personal information via email.)

Our work serves clients and communities across British Columbia on lands and waters cared for and nurtured by the many distinct First Nations across the province. The BC-CfE humbly and gratefully acknowledge the stewards of these lands, particularly the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) on whose unceded, traditional and ancestral territories our offices are located.