An estimated 22.5 million people in Africa had HIV at the end of 2007. Health experts say about 1.7 million new people became sick with HIV last year while the disease killed 1.6 million people during the same period.
In a recent article published in the journal Science, Daniel Halperin, an AIDS expert at Harvard University's School of Public Health, and other experts, argued that offering HIV testing and distributing free condoms in Africa doesn't work because if it did countries like Botswana, with the second highest incidence of AIDS after South Africa, would have wiped out its AIDS epidemic by now.
However, international AIDS charity AVERT says that intensive HIV campaigns and distribution of condoms has helped. Along with HIV prevention programs condom distribution to sub-Saharan African countries has increased from an average of 4.6 for every man in 2001 to the equivalent of 10 for every man in 2004. Although that is still fewer than needed the group says it has helped.
AVERT points to Uganda as an example. Prevalence of HIV cases fell in Uganda from around 15 percent in 1990 to around 5 percent in 2001.
But there is still room to do more. In Uganda, less than 40 million condoms were provided in 2005 but between 120 and 150 million condoms are required annually.
