Some quick facts...

AIDS is taking Africa by storm. The statistics are quite startling. Here are some quick stats:

• South Africa has the highest number of HIV positive people than any other country in the world.


• The average life expectancy for someone living in Africa is 62 years old. For someone who has been who has been diagnosed with AIDS, the life expectancy is only 47 years.


• In 2007, there were 3.2 million new people diagnosed with AIDS in Africa.


• In 2007, 2.4 million people died due to AIDS.


• Approximately 5.7 million people in South Africa have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. This is over 20% of the population in South Africa.

This is a huge crisis in Africa and it is time for us to start acting upon it. If 20% of the US population were infected with a deadly disease that has no cure, it would be front page news every day. The recent outbreak of swine flu caused only a few hundred deaths around the world but captured our attention for nearly a month straight. A disease that is killing nearly 2.5 million people a year barely catches any attention since it is not happening on our soil. Many organizations are now starting to get involved in the crisis however there is still a lot of work to be done with educating the populations most impacted by the disease. Part of our efforts in Cape Town will be to spread the word about free testing facilities and educating the public regarding how the disease is contracted. Hopefully through our work we will be able to raise awareness both over in Africa and here in our own neighborhoods.