Top 10 Countries With The Highest Rate Of HIV Infection

World Population Review releases the the top 10 countries with the highest rate of HIV infection in the world. As at now, Eswatini leads the list.

HIV is a global concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that 37.7 million individuals (approximately 0.7% of the global population) would be living with HIV in 2020, with 1.5 million new cases. It was projected that 73% of those cases were being treated with ART, whereas 680,000 individuals died from HIV-related diseases (such as AIDS) that same year.

Key Highlights

Global Current News presents the lists of the top 10 countries with the highest rate of HIV infection
Eswatini leads the list
The list is courtesy World Population Review

Africa has the highest HIV prevalence of any continent, with an estimated average of 3.9% (ranging from 3.3 to 4.5%) of the population living with HIV.

HIV is thought to have originated from the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), which crossed the species barrier from monkeys in Central Africa at least twice, most likely when human hunters came into touch with infected primate blood, and developed into HIV.

Researchers believe HIV first appeared in the 1900s and expanded slowly across Africa before spreading to the rest of the world, eventually reaching the United States in the mid to late 1970s and being detected in 1981.

What Are The Stages Of HIV?

HIV has three stages and they are:

Acute HIV infection

HIV cells multiply quickly in the body, perhaps generating flu-like symptoms in the host, and begin to destroy the body’s CD4 T lymphocyte cells. The risk of infecting others, especially through sexual contact, is considerable.

Chronic HIV infection (also known as clinical latency or dormancy)

HIV levels are modest but persistent. Infected persons may not exhibit any symptoms, and the risk of transmission to others is considerably reduced. Patients on treatment programs may have virus levels so low that they are undetectable, reducing the risk of transmission to almost zero, and may remain at this stage for decades.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)

Chronic HIV infection progresses to AIDS, the stage at which one’s immune system is no longer capable of fighting against many types of infection. The risk of transmission to others increases substantially, and death usually occurs within three years.

Countries With The Highest Rate Of HIV Infection In The World

1. Eswati

Eswatini has the world’s highest HIV prevalence, with over 27% of its population being HIV-positive. Perhaps predictably, Eswatini’s top cause of mortality is HIV/AIDS. However, Eswatini’s HIV rate is decreasing.

Between 2011 and 2016, the country’s rate of new infections was nearly cut in half because to expanded treatment and prevention services. Additionally, the proportion of adult HIV patients receiving ART climbed from 34.8% to 71.3%.

While the HIV epidemic is widespread in Eswatini, certain groups—particularly the marginalized and criminalized—are disproportionately afflicted. For example, Eswatini sex workers had the highest HIV rate in the world, at 60.5%.

2. Lesotho

HIV/AIDS is also the top cause of mortality in Lesotho, which has the world’s second highest HIV rate (21.1%). Lesotho has over 280,000 persons living with HIV. In 2018, the country had 13,000 new HIV infections and 6,100 AIDS-related deaths.

As of the end of 2020, around 71% of all people living with HIV in Lesotho were receiving ART. Approximately 57% of Lesotho’s population lives in poverty, complicating access to HIV/AIDS treatment and contributing to the country’s short life expectancy of 52 years for men and 56 years for women.

3. Botswana

Botswana has the third highest HIV prevalence, with an estimated 19.9% of the population being HIV-positive. Those living with HIV in Botswana frequently encounter severe challenges, such as gender inequality, punitive policies against vulnerable populations, and the loss of international support.

However, as in many other African countries, the percentage of HIV-positive people is gradually decreasing. Botswana provides universal free antiretroviral treatment to all people living with HIV, thanks to organizations such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2020, more than 98% of all HIV-positive pregnant women received ART therapy, lowering mother-to-child HIV transmission to 1.91%.

4. South Africa

South Africa has the world’s fourth highest HIV prevalence rate, at 19.10%. However, considering the country’s vast population, this ratio equates to 7.8 million HIV-positive people, more than any other country and around one-fifth of all HIV cases worldwide.

The country boasts the world’s largest ART program, with 68% of HIV patients receiving ART by 2021 and 93% achieving viral load suppression. The success of South Africa’s ART program is a major reason why the country’s life expectancy improved from 56 years in 2010 to 63 in 2018. Furthermore, mother-to-child HIV transmission during childbirth decreased from 3.5% in 2010 to less than 1% in 2021.