Each day more than 10,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa are handed what is almost surely a death sentence, and all of them will likely be dead by 2010. These people are infected with HIV/AIDS. It is now clear that the deaths of so many adults in their most productive years will have a devastating impact not only on individual families, but also on communities and entire countries. Although health-oriented strategies to combat HIV/AIDS have been under way since the 1980s, attempts to address the socioeconomic repercussions of illness and death on such a massive scale have only just begun.
And the repercussions are enormous. In countries with the highest rates of infection, gains in economic growth, life expectancy and educational attainment are all being reversed. The sheer number of deaths in Africa is already causing problems for efficiency of businesses and government services. Environmental problems caused by inability to combat agricultural pests and to maintain irrigation systems could occur. The disease is contributing to rapid changes in cultural values and those changes may alter social bonds. Indeed, researchers are still learning what the full range of effects may be.
