Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world.
An estimated 22 million people are living with HIV in the region - around two thirds of the global total.
In 2007 around 1.5 million people died from AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and 1.9 million
people became infected with HIV. Since the beginning of the epidemic more than
eleven million children have been orphaned by AIDS.1
Around 1.8 million children in sub-Saharan Africa were living with HIV at the end of 2007;
representing around 90% of all children living with HIV worldwide.12
The vast majority of these children have been infected with HIV during pregnancy,
childbirth or breastfeeding, as a result of their mother being infected with HIV.
Without interventions, there is a 20-45% chance that an HIV-positive mother will pass infection
on to her child. If a woman is supplied with antiretroviral drugs, however,
this risk can be significantly reduced. Before these measures can be taken the mother
must be aware of her HIV infection, so testing also plays a vital role in the prevention of MTCT.
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