United Press International - July 15, 2004
Ed Susman, United Press International

In the Central African Republic, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, a child born in 2004 would not be expected to see his or her 40th birthday.

"In all these countries AIDS is reversing the hard-won gains of recent decades," said Elizabeth Lwanga, deputy director of the U.N. Development Programme's Regional Bureau for Africa.

The index, issued this year by the UNDP in conjunction with the XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, noted people in Zimbabwe in 1990 had a life expectancy of 56.6 years. In 2004, that figure has been reduced to 33.9 years. The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus or HIV -- the organism that causes AIDS -- among people in Zimbabwe ages 15 to 48 is estimated to be 34.6 percent or one in four.

Zambians in 1990 could have expected to live 47.4 years but in 2004 that life expectancy level has been diminished to 32.7 years -- the lowest on the list. In Zambia, 16.5 percent of the population ages 15-49 are HIV positive.

"These figures for life expectancy, I believe, haven't been seen since the early medieval periods," said Stephen Lewis, U.N. special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. "It represents the breakdown of the infrastructure of these nations due mainly to AIDS, which kills people during their most productive years."

Lewis told United Press International AIDS casts its shadow not only on those infected with the disease, but even on those who are not infected because of the overall breakdown in society and in the goods and services that are lacking because of devastation from the disease.

"We need an unprecedented and holistic response to this crisis," Lwanga said. "AIDS is taking a devastating toll on our communities, and on the capacity of our public institutions."

The Human Development report lists statistics on development trends in much of sub-Saharan Africa -- home to just over 10 percent of the world's population and almost two-thirds of all people living with HIV. About 25 million people in Africa are infected with the virus -- 38 million people are infected worldwide.

Dr. Mark Mitchnick, director of research and development for the International Partnership for Microbicides, said life expectancy in AID-ravaged countries such as Swaziland and Lesotho -- at about 50 years some 15 years ago -- now is at 36 years, possibly the "lowest ever seen in human history."

Mitchnick's organization is attempting to develop microbicides that could protect women from infection during sexual intercourse -- the main path of infection among people in Africa.

Lewis noted the AIDS epidemic is becoming more a disease that preferentially strikes women. In brief remarks to media at an event sponsored by Mitchnick's group Wednesday, Lewis said rates of HIV infection among young women ages 15-24 are becoming "hallucinatory" -- reaching 75 percent in some sub-Saharan African nations.

Zeda Rosenberg, chief executive office of the International Partnership for Microbicides, said in lieu of an effective vaccine against HIV -- still far from discovery -- microbicides represent the best chance that the AIDS pandemic can be slowed.

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Ed Susman covers medical issues and research for UPI Science News. E-mail sciencemail@upi.com
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