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HIV and AIDS in Africa: good news and bad news

Robert G Cumming
Med J Aust 2012; 196 (5): . || doi: 10.5694/mja11.11600
Published online: 19 March 2012

Donor countries withdraw HIV funding just when compelling evidence on prevention emerges

The global epidemic of HIV and AIDS started in sub-Saharan Africa, and there are now 23 million people in the region living with HIV, representing 68% of the world total. In December 2011, I participated in the 16th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA), held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The conference was full of good news about progress against HIV over the past few years, but there was also a great deal of concern about the ability to sustain the momentum.


  • School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.



Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

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