Tidbits About HIV in Lesotho

Dr. Rajni gave us this lecture on Monday and there was so much information that I found fascinating and shocking that I needed to share it with you!

• There are approximately 1.8 million people living in Lesotho (the entire country)
• the population is expected to decrease by 191,000 between now and 2050, partially due to the HIV epidemic
• life expectancy for both sexes: 36
• happy stat: 85% of the adult population is literate (more women are than men and more girls are enrolled in schools than boys)

Here's where it gets especially shocking:

• 33 million people are living with HIV throughout the world (16.5 million women, 14.5 million men, 2 million children under 15 years)
• 70% of women and 90% (N-I-N-E-T-Y PERCENT) of the children infected with HIV live in southern Africa

In Lesotho specifically:

• 1 in 4 adults are HIV positive
• about 110,000 children have either been single or double orphaned by HIV/AIDS

Here's where it gets more positive

• Number of adults (15-49) on ARVs in 2004: 1000
• Number of adults on ARVs in 2007: 20,240
• Number of children (under 15) on ARVs in 2005: under 20
• Same statistic now: over 3,000 in the Baylor clinic alone

ARVs were only made widely available for children in Lesotho in 2004. Without them, 40% of children would die by age 1 and 50% by age 2.