AIDS. A global crisis. Throughout the world, 33 million people are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Of these, nearly 22.5 million are in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, 1.6 million adults and children died of AIDS in 2007—that’s 4,300 people a day—and some 1.7 million people were newly infected.

Yet with today’s medical advances, AIDS doesn’t have to be a death sentence. And for those living in the developed world with adequate resources and access, HIV has more often become a chronic illness that can be managed for years. But in Africa, the World Health Organization estimates that only 28% of those in need of treatment are getting it. 

These statistics are tragic and extreme, but progress has been made. ln recent years, AIDS in Africa has received much-needed attention and response. Since 2003, the number of Africans on ARVs has increased more than tenfold.  International efforts have produced results, but still have a long way to go.

While AIDS often gets the spotlight, and dollars. it is not alone in its devastating impact on the developing world. Every day, tuberculosis and malaria take a critical toll.

TB is a contagious disease, spread like the common cold. Globally, TB kills at least 1.6 million each year, the vast majority in the developing world. In Africa alone, TB caused more than a half million deaths (544,000) in 2005, and more than 2.5 million TB cases were detected. 

Malaria is a potentially fatal illness spread by mosquitoes. Globally, malaria kills more than 1 million people each year, more than 75% of them African children under the age of five; malaria accounts for one in five child deaths in Africa. In fact, 90% of all malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa (that is 2,500 malaria deaths every day).

While the death tolls of these diseases are both incomprehensible and unnecessary, the destructive impact of AIDS, TB and malaria reaches even further than those who are infected.

When these diseases strike, families are disrupted, and already meager incomes lost to sickness. Communities and social systems suffer, and struggling economies are further strained. Not only do these diseases kill people, they also perpetuate cycles of poverty and can hinder an entire country’s development.

AIDS
The real impact of AIDS is much greater than the estimated prevalence rates. For every person living with AIDS, at least six other lives are directly affected. In sub-Saharan Africa, the 22 million who are living with HIV and AIDS translates to an overall impact on nearly one-fifth of the population.

Tuberculosis most often affects young adults in the prime of their lives. TB patients lose three to four months of work time or 20 to 30 percent of the annual household income, worldwide. 

Malaria sickens 300 – 500 million people each year. In Africa, malaria consumes up to 25% of household incomes and 40% of government public health expenditures.

But today, AIDS, TB and malaria are all preventable and treatable, and TB and malaria are curable.

AIDS
Antiretrovirals for HIV and AIDS treatment cost from $100 to $600 for first line treatments (depending on country’s income classification).  The treatment to help prevent HIV transmission from a mother to her baby costs only a few dollars; without it, 15 to 30 percent of these infants will become infected with HIV.

TB
A full course of TB drugs for one patient only costs about $15.  The Global Plan to Stop TB estimates that controlling the disease worldwide would cost around $5 billion per year, and $2 billion a year for Africa.. A recent World Bank study concluded that implementing the Global Plan in Africa would yield significant economic gains, with countries gaining up to nine times their investment. 

Malaria
Malaria also takes a toll on Africa’s economy. The disease costs African countries an estimated $12 billion in lost GDP every year , but could be controlled for a fraction of that sum. With the most effective malaria medication only costing about $2 per person —even less for a child’s dose--every case in Africa could probably be treated for about $500 million a year. For malaria prevention, insecticide-treated mosquito nets cost less than $10.

Clearly Africa’s scourge of AIDS, TB and malaria is a problem that can be solved – and the cost of intervention much lower than the cost of apathy.