In-depth: Countdown to Universal Access

AFRICA: The universal access hit parade

JOHANNESBURG, 30 November 2009 (PlusNews) - The theme for World AIDS Day 2009 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights', and the efforts of the continent's developing countries to reach some of the key indicators of universal access are under closer scrutiny than ever. Will they do it?

In December 2005 the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) adopted a resolution to assist governments, civil society and NGOs in "scaling up HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, with the aim of coming as close as possible to the goal of universal access to treatment by 2010 for all those who need it."

That deadline is now little more than a year away. In most of Africa's developing countries, fallout from the global economic crisis has cast a cloud of uncertainty over the sustainability of treatment programmes, while prevention efforts are still struggling to keep up with the pace of the virus.

IRIN/PlusNews has compiled a list of the year's best and worst performers.

Reported number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy, 2008

Top five:
1. Botswana - 83.4 percent
2. Rwanda - 65 percent
3. Benin - 57.7 percent
4. Namibia - 57 percent
5. Cameroon - 53 percent

Bottom five:
1. Southern Sudan - 1.3 percent
2. DRC - 4.2 percent
3. CAR - 7.7 percent
4. Angola - 8.28 percent
5. Ghana - 15.5 percent

Estimated antiretroviral therapy coverage among children, Dec 2008

Top five:
1. Namibia - over 95 percent
2. Rwanda - over 95 percent
3. Botswana - 90 percent
4. South Africa - 61 percent
5. Zambia - 53 percent

Bottom five:
1. Sudan - 2 percent
2. Equatorial Guinea - 3 percent
3. Chad - 7 percent
4. Liberia - 8 percent
5. Angola - 9 percent

Number of HIV tests per 1,000 population, 2008

Top five:
1. Botswana - 210 per 1,000
2. Lesotho - 186 per 1,000
3. Sao Tome and Principe - 179 per 1,000
4. Uganda - 146 per 1,000
5. Swaziland - 139 per 1,000

Bottom five:
1. Sierra Leone - 25 per 1,000
2. CAR - 27 per 1,000
3. Guinea Bissau - 29 per 1,000
4. Republic of Congo - 32 per 1,000
5. Ghana - 40 per 1,000

Estimated number of HIV-positive pregnant women who received antiretrovirals (ARVs) for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) in 2008

Top five:
1. Botswana - 95 percent
2. Swaziland - 95 percent
3. Namibia - 91 percent
4. South Africa - 73 percent
5. Rwanda - 72 percent

Bottom five:
1. Sudan - 1 percent
2. CAR - 5 percent
3. DRC - 5 percent
4. Burundi - 9 percent
5. ROC - 10 percent

Sources: Towards Universal Access report 2009, UNGASS country reports. The figures are for countries with generalised epidemics.

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Read the IRIN/PlusNews series 'Countdown to Universal Access'

Countdown to Universal Access
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Links
	Universal Access - an overview Mapping universal access progress Towards Universal Access: 2009 progress report Towards Universal Access: 2008 progress report Towards Universal Access: 2007 progress report Universal Access by 2010 What Countries Need. Investment needed for 2010 Targets
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	KENYA: Food and ARVs: "I will survive..."
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