More than two thirds of the people who die from Aids live in Sub-Saharan Africa. In several southern countries, at least one in five adults is HIV-positive. The death toll is expected to continue to rise, peaking around 2010. Many countries are beginning to improve their prevention efforts, but the high prevalence of the disease means that even an extremely successful campaign will only gradually reduce the death rate.

People with HIV:	29.4m
New HIV cases in 2002:	3.5m
Deaths from Aids in 2002:	2.4m
Children (under 15) with Aids by end of 2002:	2.8m
Source: UNAIDS, 2002

Aids deaths in 2001
South Africa:	360,000
Zimbabwe:	200,000
Kenya:	190,000
Nigeria:	170,000
Ethiopia:	160,000
Tanzania:	140,000
Source: UNAIDS, 2002

From the archive: