11 Facts about HIV in Africa



  • Out of the 34 million HIV-positive people worldwide, 69% live in sub-Saharan Africa. There are roughly 23.8 million infected persons in all of Africa.
  • 91% of the world’s HIV-positive children live in Africa.
  • More than one million adults and children die every year from HIV/AIDS in Africa alone. In 2011, 1.7 million people worldwide died from AIDS.
  • Since the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, more than 75 million people have contracted the illness, and over 36 million have died from an HIV-related cause.
  • 71% of the HIV/AIDS-related deaths in 2011 were people living in Africa.


  • Antiretroviral drug treatments can tremendously decrease the number of HIV-related deaths by delaying the progression of the virus and allowing people to live relatively healthy, normal lives.
  • Due to an insufficient supply of antiretroviral drugs and health care providers in 2010, only 5 of the 10 million HIV-positive patients in Africa were able to receive treatment.
  • Because of HIV/AIDs, the average life-expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa is 54.4 years of age. In some countries in Africa, it’s below 49.
  • The HIV/AIDS epidemic has drastically slowed the economic growth and social development in Africa, because hundreds of thousands of people are unable to work or receive an education.
  • Contraceptive use of condoms has doubled in recent years because it is an inexpensive provision to offer to both the HIV-positive and negative. However, the method is void when couples are hoping to conceive or have already engaged with infected persons.
  • A pregnant woman not treated with the proper drugs, has a 20-45% chance that her infant will contract the virus from pregnancy. 59% of HIV-positive people in Africa are women, the majority of children diagnosed with HIV get the virus from their mothers.

https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-hiv-africa