Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - February 1, 2007
The Dispatch Online said the results of the study by the Eastern Cape Aids Council were released this week.
The council's 73-page report says that of the estimated 6,67-million people in the Eastern Cape, about 10% (667 000) were living with HIV last year. A total of 81 000 people were newly infected and 38 507 people died of Aids.
More than 20 000 children had been orphaned by Aids, while 5 700 babies were infected with HIV before birth. Another 3 800 babies were infected through their mothers' milk.
The adult life-expectancy pattern in the province, which was higher than 51 years for both men and women in 1990, dropped to 49,1 years last year.
The report says more young women than men were infected with HIV. Nationally, of the people infected between the ages of 15 and 24, about 77% were women.
The report sketches a bleak picture of Eastern Cape's health services and blames a worsening situation on a "severe shortage of financial and human resources in the provincial health sector". Poor working conditions and low staff morale compound the problem.
Treatment Action Campaign spokesperson Phillip Mokoena confirmed the figures, but said specific details on district figures are still needed.
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