Number 1 ... with a virus

I read here on Friday that South Africa just passed India as the country with the greatest number of people living with HIV--about 5.7 million.

Do you think that has anything to do with this?

Fortunately, Mbeki has since changed his tune, but who knows how long the harm he caused will be felt.

I'm going to see an unauthorized biographic documentary about Mbeki on Friday. I'll make sure to tell you how it is. There's actually a lot of controversy around the film; the BBC commissioned and then refused to air it. That's the simplified version. But anyway, legal wrangling ensued, but eventually the filmmakers got a grant to tour the film independently. So far they've sold out every show. Since one of the filmmakers is a Canadian, I thought I'd pitch the story to some newspapers and magazines back home. So far The Post has said no, but I'm still waiting on Maclean's and The Walrus.

ANYWAY ...

India apparently cut its numbers by more than half, which seems unbelievable. But it's difficult to tell whether it's the result of effective prevention or simply an adjustment in survey techniques.

"The estimates for India were slashed following a survey of HIV infection levels among a group of people representative of the entire population. The previous estimate of 5,7-million people had been based on surveillance of women attending ante-natal facilities and high-risk population groups."

See what I mean? Why was their previous test group so non-representative of the regular population?

Anyway, neither SA or India are at the top of the list in terms of prevalence (the percentage of the population living with HIV). That dubious honour goes to Swaziland where 33.4% of the population is living with HIV.

All of the countries in the top 10, in terms of prevalence, are in sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa is fifth. The numbers are kind of overwhelming: 2/3 of people living with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa; the 2.1 million AIDS-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa represent 72% of global AIDS deaths.

Everyone should read Stephanie Nolen's (relatively) new book, 28. You can buy it here.

*This seems like the most responsible time to tell everyone that I've been working as a part-time researcher (about one half-day a week) for Stephanie Nolen, the Globe's African correspondent. I'm sure I'll blog more about it later.