AIDS Lays Waste to a Nation

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

AIDS Lays Waste to a Nation

Detroit Free Press Online (12/23/98)
Tucker, Neely

United Nations statistics indicate that as many as 25 percent of adults in Zimbabwe are infected with HIV. Despite having the highest HIV rate in the world, behavioral changes to stop the spread of the disease have been slow in coming. While condom sales have doubled, some researchers report that there is little evidence that people are using the condoms or abstaining from high-risk sexual behavior. Furthermore, Zimbabwe spent just $300,000 this year on AIDS campaigns. Many of the people who are dying from the disease are in their earning-prime and child-rearing years, which has led to a breakdown of extended families and an increasing number of orphans. Prostitution at truck stops and sex with multiple partners have been blamed for helping to spread the disease in the country. According to UN statistics, women in Zimbabwe who are between the ages of 15 and 19 are five times more likely to be infected with HIV than men.

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