HIV and Aids 

The problem in Africa is massive no matter which angle you look at it from. In sub-Saharan Africa it's estimated that 22 million individuals are living with HIV. Well in excess of one million people die each year in the continent. Parents leave children and babies behind (often infected themselves) and the numbers of orphaned children in Africa exceed 11 million. 

Even if you look locally at one of our projects you see that in Addo Township, for example, 50% of the adult population is HIV positive. It looks too big a problem to tackle even in a very contained local situation. Fortunately there are many organisations and individuals who don't give up so easily so something can be achieved in face of apparent hopelessness.

Antiretroviral medicines are making a massive difference - keeping sick people alive - but cost and ignorance about the causes of AIDS have prevented take up in some African nations. The struggle has been financial, medical and political. In situations where ARVs aren't available to meet the scale of the problem, better nutrition is one way of building up weak immune systems for better quality of life, albeit shorter than we would all like.

Much is being done in terms of education and awareness so that a new generation of young people can develop a lifestyle that prevents them joining the grim statistics we read today. Willing Hands have made this particular aspect of AIDS prevention work a priority.