On December 11, 2002, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health released the fourth version of “AIDS in Ethiopia,” a compilation of current national data on the HIV/AIDS epidemic released every two years. The new report boasts improved surveillance models and projections, attributable to a database that has doubled in size since the previous edition.
Because of improvements in data and statistical sampling and modeling methods, it is difficult to compare the new figures with the old ones directly. For example, the apparent “decrease” in prevalence may be due in part to stabilizing rates of new infections in Ethiopia, but it is more likely due to the reclassification of Estie, a low-prevalence area, from a rural to an urban site, as well as expanded surveillance data. The following is a brief overview of the new statistics, displayed beside older figures from the third edition. The improved data and data analysis techniques that were used to arrive at these revised figures make the new “AIDS in Ethiopia” an indispensable resource for those requiring in-country statistics on HIV/AIDS.
In addition to these overall statistics, the report also contains new data tables and graphs, such as estimations by age and sex of the number of people with HIV infection, that have not appeared in prior editions of “AIDS in Ethiopia.” Highest infection rates are concentrated among youth 15-24, followed closely by the 25-34 year age group. However, in terms of absolute numbers, the largest number of HIV-infected persons is between 20-29, and more than 60% of these infections are in females.
For more information, read the Executive Summary , excerpted from the full report, or contact the MOH to obtain a full copy of the 2002 edition of the 36-page report “AIDS in Ethiopia”:
Ministry of Health
Disease Prevention and Control Department
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
PO Box 1234
Telephone: 251-1-159682 / 251-1-503835