GLOBAL HEALTH: U.S. Agency for International Development Fights AIDS in Africa, but Better Data Needed to Measure Impact
Abstract
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is the leading cause of death in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, where more than two-thirds of the people who are infected with HIV live. Despite efforts by the international community to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, the National Intelligence Council estimates 1 that as many as one-quarter of the population of the hardest-hit countries in that region will die from AIDS over the next 10 years. Further, given the scale of the epidemic, AIDS has grown beyond a public health problem to become a humanitarian and developmental crisis. For example, the National Intelligence Council concluded that the persistence of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, is likely to aggravate and in some cases provoke economic decline, social fragmentation, and political destabilization. In addition, the Council found that the epidemic threatens to weaken the military capabilities of countries and because of the involvement of sub-Saharan African troops in international peacekeeping efforts it could hinder those activities as well. Since the 1980s, the U.S. Agency for International Development has provided assistance to help fight AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA387813
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office