JOHANNESBURG, 30 November 2009 (PlusNews) - The theme for World
AIDS Day 2009 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights', and the
efforts of the continent's developing countries to reach some of
the key indicators of universal access are under closer scrutiny
than ever. Will they do it?
In December 2005 the United Nations General Assembly Special
Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) adopted a resolution to assist
governments, civil society and NGOs in "scaling up HIV
prevention, treatment, care and support, with the aim of coming
as close as possible to the goal of universal access to treatment
by 2010 for all those who need it."
That deadline is now little more than a year away. In most of
Africa's developing countries, fallout from the global economic
crisis has cast a cloud of uncertainty over the sustainability of
treatment programmes, while prevention efforts are still
struggling to keep up with the pace of the virus.
IRIN/PlusNews has compiled a list of the year's best and worst
performers.
Reported number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy, 2008
Top five:
1. Botswana - 83.4 percent
2. Rwanda - 65 percent
3. Benin - 57.7 percent
4. Namibia - 57 percent
5. Cameroon - 53 percent
Bottom five:
1. Southern Sudan - 1.3 percent
2. DRC - 4.2 percent
3. CAR - 7.7 percent
4. Angola - 8.28 percent
5. Ghana - 15.5 percent
Estimated antiretroviral therapy coverage among children, Dec
2008
Top five:
1. Namibia - over 95 percent
2. Rwanda - over 95 percent
3. Botswana - 90 percent
4. South Africa - 61 percent
5. Zambia - 53 percent
Bottom five:
1. Sudan - 2 percent
2. Equatorial Guinea - 3 percent
3. Chad - 7 percent
4. Liberia - 8 percent
5. Angola - 9 percent
Number of HIV tests per 1,000 population, 2008
Top five:
1. Botswana - 210 per 1,000
2. Lesotho - 186 per 1,000
3. Sao Tome and Principe - 179 per 1,000
4. Uganda - 146 per 1,000
5. Swaziland - 139 per 1,000
Bottom five:
1. Sierra Leone - 25 per 1,000
2. CAR - 27 per 1,000
3. Guinea Bissau - 29 per 1,000
4. Republic of Congo - 32 per 1,000
5. Ghana - 40 per 1,000
Estimated number of HIV-positive pregnant women who received
antiretrovirals (ARVs) for prevention of mother-to-child
transmission (PMTCT) in 2008
Top five:
1. Botswana - 95 percent
2. Swaziland - 95 percent
3. Namibia - 91 percent
4. South Africa - 73 percent
5. Rwanda - 72 percent
Bottom five:
1. Sudan - 1 percent
2. CAR - 5 percent
3. DRC - 5 percent
4. Burundi - 9 percent
5. ROC - 10 percent
Sources: Towards Universal Access report 2009, UNGASS country
reports. The figures are for countries with generalised
epidemics.
www.aegis.org