President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a total freeze on all federal financial assistance, including foreign aid and HIV-related initiatives, has sparked global concern, particularly in African nations.
With many African healthcare programs—such as HIV/AIDS vaccination efforts—relying heavily on USAID funding, the impact is being felt more acutely in Africa than in other aid-dependent regions. Here are five countries with the highest HIV rates.
1. Swaziland or Eswatini
Eswatini has the world’s highest HIV/AIDS infection rate, with 27.20% of the country’s population living with the infection. The infection was reportedly transmitted all over the country through unprotected sex, transactional sex, and sexual violence. The country formerly known as Swaziland was renamed by King MSWATI III to Eswatini in April 2018
2. Lesotho
Lesotho has a 25.00% HIV/AIDS infection rate. The majority of affected people are women and young people between the ages of 15 to 24 from low-income communities. Also, the country has limited access to good jobs, formal education, and adequate medical care.
3. Botswana
The HIV/AIDS infection rate in Botswana is at the rate of 21.90% of its population, making it the world’s third-highest. The infections are most common among female sex workers. The prevalence of the epidemic is higher among adult females than among males, like in Swaziland, and has spread largely through forced marriages and gender-based violence.
4. South Africa
South Africa remains a country with a substantial number of people living with HIV/AIDS with 18.90% of the population testing positive for the virus. These high rates have been attributed in part to sexual abuse, a lack of adequate information, and false beliefs about the illness. The majority of those afflicted are women under 40, including those who are pregnant.
5. Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe ranks fifth among countries living with HIV/AIDS with 12% of the population testing positive for the virus. Factors such as poverty, limited education, and a high incidence of other infectious diseases contribute to the transmission, although the country is making processes to reduce the transmission across the country.
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