Billions more people despite HIV/AIDS

Africa's population could increase by more than one billion by 2050, despite the continent's high rate of HIV infection, a new report has suggested. In its "World Population Data Sheet", the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) said the central African region was expected to have the fastest-growing population by 2050, with western Africa a close second. Carl Haub, the leading author of the report, said in a statement: "The governments don't have the wherewithal to fund the [family planning] programmes, and any family planning programme is interrupted by political strife." Haub said Africa was going to have a "hard time taking on another one billion people". The report indicated that African governments, particularly in sub-Saharan countries, would need to create "millions of jobs and improve health care facilities and schools" to deal with the increase.