Zimbabwe HIV infection rate drops
There has been a drop in the level of HIV/Aids infections in Zimbabwe,
one
of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to record such a decline.
The UN-commissioned survey says that over two years, the percentage of
those
infected between the ages of 15 and 49 fell by almost 5% to 20.1%.
The decline is attributed to changing sexual behaviour and condom use.
But some 3,000 Zimbabweans still die each week of Aids-related
illnesses,
the
state-run Herald newspaper reports.

"Girls are now delaying when it comes to starting sexual activity and
almost
everyone in the country has an understanding of what HIV is all about,"
Health Minister David Parirenyatwa is quoted by the paper as saying.
However, as a large number of people already have the virus, a drop in
infection rates will take a whole decade to translate into lower
mortality
rates.
Zimbabwe is one of the countries hardest hit by the HIV pandemic -
compounded
by a sharp fall in living standards and an economy that has collapsed.
UNAids defends the reliability of the new statistics as it says they
are
based on a variety of studies by different organisations that have all
reached
similar conclusions.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4327696.stm