governance, citizens and HIV/AIDS

news diaries from Sub-Saharan Africa

HIV Prevalence in SA

In South Africa, a survey by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) has revealed that the country’s HIV/AIDS epidemic has stabilised and there are signs of a declining prevalence among children and teenagers. According to the National HIV Prevalence, Incidence and Communication Survey, conducted in 2008, the HIV prevalence has levelled off at 10.9 percent for people aged two and older.
The study also showed that South Africa has seen a decline in new HIV infections among teenagers aged between 15 and 19 as well as a lowered prevalence of 10.9 percent among children aged between 2 and 14, from 5.6 percent in 2002 to 2.5 percent in 2008. http://www.buanews.gov.za/rss/09/09061012051001

Story ideas:

Could this survey’s results be attributed to the success of prevention programmes? Ask people who work in the field for their interpretations.
If you are in another country, you could seek out data on prevalence among children and teenagers at home and talk to people about which programmes seem to be working well and which could be improved / change focus. If prevalence among different age groups is not being noted, find out why (researchers in this study said it was useful to find out which age groups HIV/AIDS programmes are reaching).

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