|
travel
news review
![](/file/14186/www_07_1999.iso/inne/lonelyplanet/scoop/graphics/line.jpg)
14
May '99
A leading specialist in epidemic diseases has warned
that the spread of AIDS in southern African countries is out of control.
According to Dr Bernhard Schwartlaender of the United Nations Agency for
AIDS (UNAIDS) more than a quarter of the adult populations of Botswana,
Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe are infected with the HIV virus, the precursor
to full-blown AIDS.
Zimbabwe has the highest proportion of infections in the world. In urban
areas, the infection rate is about 40%, and up to 80% in the army. The
country's per capita health budget affords an AIDS victim about five and
a half hours worth of modern drugs per year. As there is typically a dormant
period of six or seven years, death rates are only now beginning to reflect
the rate of infection, with profound social consequences: families lose
breadwinners, children are orphaned or skip school to care for parents,
work absenteeism skyrockets, and the financial sector faces huge insurance
payouts. UNAIDS has announced a 100 million scheme to combat the crisis.
|