Think of all the friends you have ever had. Now imagine one in five of them are HIV positive – and there is little or no treatment available.

This is the situation facing people in some of the worst hit countries in Africa.

But it needn’t be this way
Medicines, known as anti-retroviral drugs, have transformed HIV from the death sentence it was in the 1980s into a treatable condition. In rich countries these medicines enable people with HIV to live healthy, productive lives. However, for most people in poor countries they remain out of reach.

As a result, in some of the countries worst affected by HIV and AIDS, hundreds of people are dying each day. The HIV and AIDS pandemic is sweeping away teachers, nurses, farmers, mothers and fathers. This leaves a country locked into a cycle of poverty.

ActionAid believes that all people living with HIV and AIDS have a right to life and dignity.

We work in partnership with poor and excluded people at a local, national and international level to defend this right.

A female face
The effects of the AIDS crisis are felt most sharply by women. In Southern Africa more than 60% of those living with HIV are female. Discrimination, poverty and gender-based violence are all driving these statistics.

What’s more, women who become HIV positive are more likely to face violence and discrimination. Women and girls also shoulder the burden of caring for relatives suffering with AIDS-related illnesses and for looking after children whose parents have died.

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