The 1st of December was World AIDS Day. Over the past 27 years, there have been around 27,000 people diagnosed HIV positive in Australia. Of these, just over 10,000 have developed into AIDS, and almost 7,000 deaths have occurred following AIDS. Around 88% of cases of HIV transmission in Australia occur through sexual contact between men.
In Kenya, the population is less than twice that of Australia, but around 2.7 million people are HIV positive. Without AIDS, the average life expectancy in Kenya would be 65 years, but it is currently 45 years, representing a 20-year reduction in life expectancy for everyone. In Africa, HIV transmission is predominantly through male to female sexual contact, and around the incidence of HIV infection amongst women is almost twice that amongst men.
According to an economic study, AIDS has resulted in a drop of around 15% in Kenya’s GDP, and a drop in average income of 10%. If these figures are correct, the economic impact of AIDS is by itself sufficient to prevent the poor in Kenya from working their way out of poverty. Commercial farming is particularly vulnerable to AIDS, with productivity in some cases dropping by 50%.