Drowning by numbers Twenty-two million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the disease was first discovered just over 20 years ago. Three million people died last year alone.

Thirty-six million people are now infected: 25 million in sub-Saharan Africa. In Botswana, 36% of adults have the HIV virus, in South Africa 20%. (1)

Youth Young people in their teens and twenties are among the most susceptible to the HIV virus. Experimentation with sex and drugs combined with youthful ignorance can be a deadly combination. (2)

* An estimated 10.3 million people aged 15-24 are Living with HIV/AIDS and 50% of all new infections, 7,000 every day, occur among young people.

* According to UNICEF over half of people aged 15-24 in more than a dozen countries, from Bolivia to Vietnam; have never heard of AIDS or have serious misconceptions about how AIDS is spread.

* Young sex workers are at especially high risk-20% of India’s 2 million sex workers are under and nearly 50% are under 18. In Cambodia, 30% of sex workers aged 13-19 are infected with HIV.

Regional AIDS statistics, 2001 (1)

Adult
People with     Newly-     prevalence
Region                       HIV/AIDS     infected       rate

Sub-Saharan Africa         28.1 million  3.4 million     8.4%
N Africa and Middle East     440,000       80,000        0.2%
S and SE Asia              6.1 million     800,000       0.6%
E Asia and Pacific          1 million      270,000       0.1%
Latin America              1.4 million     130,000       0.5%
Caribbean                    420,000       60,000        2.2%
E Europe and Central Asia   1 million      250,000       0.5%
W Europe                     560,000       30,000        0.3%
N America                    940,000       45,000        0.6%
Australia and NZ              15,000         500         0.1%

Total                       40 million    5 million      1.2%
People living with HIV/AIDS, 2001

Total 40.0 million

Men                19.7m
Women              17.6m
Children under 15   2.7m

Note: Table made from bar graph
Newly infected with HIV, 2001

Total 5.0 million

Men                2.5m
Women              1.8m
Children under 15  5.10m

Note: Table made from bar graph
AIDS deaths in 200*

Total 3.0 million

Men                1.3m
Women              1.1m
Children under 15  .58m

Note: Table made from bar graph

*[Unreadable in original source]

Poverty