South Africa: Life expectancy has decreased by 13 years due to HIV / AIDS

The average life expectancy of South Africans has decreased by 13 years compared to 1990, the research results of the Medical Research Council and the South African Society for Social Insurance announced on 12-12.

HIV / AIDS reduces the average life expectancy in South Africa (Photo: wkrn.com) The average life expectancy of South Africans is 51 years (49 years for men, 53 years for women), down 13 years compared to 64 years old in 1990. According to the study, the rapid spread of HIV / AIDS is the cause of this condition.

South Africa currently ranks second in the world (after India) in terms of the number of people infected with HIV / AIDS with 5.5 million people infected on a total of 47 million people. Especially recently, the number of women aged 15 to 24 infected with HIV / AIDS in South Africa has increased sharply. In 2006 alone, there were 160,000 new infections and this number continued to increase even when South Africans were aware of safety measures.

The study also warns, if the government does not implement effective measures to propagandize and prevent HIV / AIDS people, the average life expectancy of South Africans will be only about 45 years old in the year. 2015.