AIDS in Africa

I am often asked about the AIDS pandemic in Africa. The map below will give you a basic idea of where this disease is currently at its strongest in Africa. It shows the official adult prevalence rate of the various countries, based on the current figures from the CIA World Factbook. (Of course, these are only the official figures; the true number of people affected by the disease is probably much higher in many countries.) The green and yellow areas represent countries where the prevalence rate is lower, and the red and maroon areas represent countries where the prevalence rate is higher.

As you can see, the worst of the problem is concentrated in southern and eastern Africa. In the countries where we currently have projects, only the Central African Republic has an adult prevalence rate of over 5%. So while we must be cautious, the statistics do not indicate that it is a major concern in the areas in which we are working. There are missionaries serving in ministries of compassion (such as orphanages) in areas where AIDS is a problem.