Africa

situation analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to
22 million people living with HIV

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 22 million people living with HIV, representing two-thirds of the global total. In 2007 alone, an estimated 1.9 million people became infected with HIV, and 1.5 million died of AIDS. The virus is the leading cause of death in the region, exacting a devastating toll on individuals, families and communities. In contrast to other regions, almost 60% of people living with HIV in Africa are female, and women and girls bear a disproportionate burden in providing care for AIDS-affected families and communities.

Patterns of HIV epidemics vary considerably across the continent. Southern Africa is the worst affected by the by AIDS epidemic, with 35% of global HIV infections and 38% of global AIDS deaths. Seven hyper-endemic countries in Southern Africa face adult prevalence rates ranging from 15% to 27% (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), and an additional seven countries confront prevalence rates of between 5% and 15% (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, and Tanzania). In contrast, a small number of countries, primarily in West Africa, experience low-level or concentrated epidemics that principally affect most at risk groups, such as sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men, and injecting drug users.

The HIV epidemic has resulted in history’s single sharpest reversal in human development, negatively impacting achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In the most-affected countries, HIV has reduced life expectancy, slowed economic growth, deepened poverty, and weakened governance structures. AIDS related illness and deaths have aggravated existing institutional capacity constraints, and compromised governments’ ability to effectively deliver services and meet their core mandates. Loss of skill and institutional memory due to AIDS is often compounded by the financial cost of training new staff, and increased demand for health care, funeral costs, and pensions.

UNDP's mission and work on the ground

UNDP’s Regional HIV Programme will contribute to the attainment of universal access and MDG goals by strengthening capacities of institutions and societies to address vulnerability to HIV and mitigate the impact of AIDS on the region’s development efforts. The programme will place a special emphasis on partnerships with Regional Economic Commissions, and will work through internal collaboration between the HIV/AIDS Practice and the Gender Team, as well as the Capacity Development Team and the Poverty, Governance, and Crisis Prevention and Recovery Practices as appropriate. The Strategic Plan includes four outcome areas that guide UNDP’s response to HIV, based on the organization’s comparative strengths and the UNAIDS division of labour and focussing on integrating HIV into national development processes; strengthening the governance component of AIDS responses; promoting human rights and gender equality and addressing the needs of vulnerable populations; and accelerating implementation of Global Fund programmes to tackle AIDS, TB and malaria.