Just Cap It: HIV/AIDS in South Africa

Annual new cases of HIV/AIDS in South Africa have fallen by half since 1999, and a new study credits this improvement largely to a dramatic rise in condom use.

The proportion of South African men ages 16-24 who reported condom use during their last sexual encounter increased from 20 percent in 1999 to 75 percent in 2009, according to the study. While acknowledging the contribution of improved access to antiretroviral treatment, the authors cited increased condom use as the “most significant factor” in reducing new infections.

South Africa comprises 0.7 percent of the global population but 17 percent of all people with HIV/AIDS. Nearly 6 million people among the country’s population of 50 million live with HIV/AIDS. Approximately 2.8 million South Africans have died prematurely due to the disease, and more than 1 million children have lost their mother to HIV/AIDS. During the height of the epidemic in 2005, more than 700 South Africans died of AIDS daily, many in their prime.

The proportion of South Africans ages 15-49 who are HIV-positive, 17 percent, is more than triple the rate for all sub-Saharan Africa, while worldwide adult prevalence is 0.8 percent. Although antiretrovirals were not made available publicly until 2004, in excess of 1.5 million South Africans now receive them, helping boost life expectancy from 54 years in 2005 to 58 years in 2010.

The study, “The Effect of Changes in Condom Usage and Antiretroviral Treatment Coverage on Human Immunodeficiency Virus Incidence in South Africa: A Model-Based Analysis,” was published early online in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface (2012;doi:10.1098/rsif.2011.0826).

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!