In a previous post, we wrote and published data that shows the number of children between 0-14 years living with HIV/AIDS in Africa. That data showed that Nigeria has the highest number of children living with HIV in Africa, making us ask the question “why are preventive measures not out in place?” and “why are Antiretroviral drugs not accessible to the children living with HIV?”
In a recent data by United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), we see where the initial problem of large comes from. The data shows that 180,000 Nigerians are living with HIV/AIDS, tying with South Africa which also has the same number of people living with the disease. The total number of Adults living with HIV in the 20 countries listed below are about 790,000 which doesn’t account for other countries not listed here in Sub-saharan Africa.
This brings up the question, what are we really doing to curb the spread of HIV? Are the current preventive methods working at all? Isn’t time to rethink our approach to Health issues in Nigeria and Africa as a whole?
| S/N | Country | Annual Estimated Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | 180,000 |
| 2 | South Africa | 180,000 |
| 3 | India | 68,000 |
| 4 | Mozambique | 39,000 |
| 5 | Tanzania | 36,000 |
| 6 | Kenya | 36,000 |
| 7 | Indonesia | 35,000 |
| 8 | Cameroon | 33,000 |
| 9 | Zimbabwe | 29,000 |
| 10 | Uganda | 28,000 |
| 11 | Malawi | 27,000 |
| 12 | Côte d’Ivoire | 25,000 |
| 13 | D.R. Congo | 22,000 |
| 14 | Zambia | 20,000 |
| 15 | Brazil | 15,000 |
| 16 | Thailand | 14,000 |
| 17 | Ghana | 13,000 |
| 18 | Angola | 12,000 |
| 19 | South Sudan | 12,000 |
| 20 | Lesotho | 9,900 |
SOURCE: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
