AEGiS-AP: Nearly one million Ugandans have died of AIDS-related illnesses since 1983

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Nearly one million Ugandans have died of AIDS-related illnesses since 1983

Associated Press - Thursday October 24, 2002

KAMPALA, Uganda - Nearly one million Ugandans have died as a result of AIDS since the deadly disease was first identified in the East African nation in 1983, the Health Ministry said.

In a report released Wednesday, the ministry said 947,552 people have fallen victim to AIDS-related diseases during the last 19 years, including 427,153 women, 425,644 men and 94,755 children aged 15 years or below.

One million Ugandans are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, the report said.

Uganda, which has a population of 24 million, is often cited as one of Africa's success stories in fighting HIV/AIDS.

It reduced adult HIV infection rates from 18 percent in 1995 to 8.3 percent in 1999. But the decline has slowed, and fighting HIV costs Uganda about 0.8 percent of its gross domestic product every year.

AIDS is the leading killer of adults in Uganda and is responsible for 12 percent of all deaths in the country.

The report's data was compiled from government and private hospitals in Uganda's 56 districts.

Of the 35 million people worldwide with HIV, 26.5 million of them are Africans.

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