Mainstreaming of HIV and Aids into South African fisheries policy
Abstract
HIV/Aids is one of the most serious health,
economic and social issues facing southern Africa
today (UNAIDS; Heywood 2004). Although only
10% of the world’s population lives in Sub-Saharan
Africa, 64% of the 39.5 million people estimated
to have been living with the HI virus in 2006 were
from Sub-Saharan Africa. Estimates show that
women are disproportionally affected, with 77%
of all women living with the virus worldwide
being from Sub-Saharan Africa. The severity of
the epidemic in southern Africa is closely linked
to poverty, the low status of women and other
Figure 2: HIV prevalence by age group, South
Africa 2005i
Figure 3: HIV prevalence in population (aged two years and older) by
race, South Africa 2005 ii
social-economic factors (Department of Health
2007).