Infectious diseases are still a high risk
More people die from tuberculosis, malaria or HIV in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world. And nowhere else do so many people live in poverty, partly because illness prevents them from working. More than half of all people who have tested HIV-positive live in eastern and southern Africa. 20 million people, according to UNAIDS.
Despite enormous progress in prevention and treatment, in 2023 alone, around 500'000 people in this region were newly infected with the virus. Over 90 percent of all malaria victims are also from sub-Saharan Africa. Most of them are infants.
My daughter has HIV, but she's on medication. Thanks to SolidarMed, children living with HIV can also survive here in Ancuabe.
Binte Saide, mother from Ancuabe, Mozambique
Non-communicable diseases on the rise
Non-communicable diseases such as circulatory disorders in the heart, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are the three most common causes of death worldwide according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO estimates that by 2030, more people in Africa will die from chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes than from HIV, tuberculosis or malaria. Limited resources and a lack of strategies to control chronic diseases are a challenge for countries in southern Africa.
