Swaziland
The Swaziland HIV/AIDS prevalence
rate of 38.6 percent is second in the world only to Botswana’s
rate. The epidemic has affected the small kingdom in dramatic
ways. Approximately 50,000 children have lost one or both
parents as a direct result of AIDS, and 60 percent of hospital
admissions are due to HIV/AIDS-related illnesses. The majority
of deaths occur among young people aged 15–49, the
nation’s
most productive population segment. Particularly high infection
rates of up to 47.3 percent are found among women 15–24
years of age, and up to 18.3 percent among men in the same
age group. Life expectancy at birth in the mid-1990s was
51 years, but it has dropped rapidly to 39.4 as a direct
result of AIDS.
Access more information
on USAID's
HIV/AIDS Program in Swaziland, June 2005 [PDF, 549KB].
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