Search
  1. Home
  2. Africa

Life expectancy plunge due to AIDS

    JOHANNESBURG

    Life expectancy in some African countries has been reduced to just 33 years due to HIV/AIDS, a UN agency announced earlier this week during the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok.

    "Thirteen sub-Saharan African countries have suffered dramatic reversals in human development since 1990, a decline largely attributable to the HIV/AIDS pandemic," the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said.

    Zambia, with an estimated 16.5 percent of all adults living with HIV/AIDS, was listed as the worst affected.

    In its annual Human Development Report, released on Thursday, UNDP pointed out that children born in Zambia in 1990 could expect to live just over 47 years.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join