Complacency a key concern as HIV epidemic persists in Africa

AIDS has no cure. HIV is still here. But some people are forgetting that.

Fewer people in sub-Saharan Africa are dying of AIDS as treatment is more widely available. Yet officials worry that success may be encouraging a sense of complacency.

Now Uganda, once praised globally for taking early action against HIV, is returning to blunt messaging amid worrying infection rates among young people.

Many believe “HIV is gone,” one official says.

More than 37 million people were living with HIV worldwide in 2018, with Africa accounting for nearly one in every 25 adults infected, according to the World Health Organization.

Africa’s young people, especially girls, are among the worst affected. And infection rates likely will rise as Africa’s population of over 1.2 billion is expected to double by 2050.