Barcelona, Spain — TWO University of Zimbabwe academics dealing with HIV/Aids yesterday said increasing poverty and unemployment in Zimbabwe would worsen the epidemic as most poor people faced a higher risk of HIV infection and death from Aids.

David Wilson is a professor of psychology and Helen Jackson, a researcher and writer on the impact of HIV/Aids on the African continent.

Jackson, the former director of the Southern Africa HIV/Aids Information Dissemination Service, (SafAids), said in an interview many displaced Zimbabweans, especially farm workers and their families would lose their basic economic security and housing, and this will increase their chances of contracting HIV infection, while those already infected with HIV were likely to progress faster to full-blown Aids.

Wilson said it was a pity that the systematic use of rape and violence as political tools had enormously contributed to the spread of HIV/Aids in Zimbabwe. He said there were many vital lessons from the 14th International Aids Conference which could not, unfortunately, be applied in Zimbabwe because of the political crisis.

Jackson, who has been actively involved in Aids work in Zimbabwe for the past 14 years, said: "One of the side effects of the increasing poverty in Zimbabwe, the collapse of the economy and the displacement of people is that the HIV/Aids epidemic will intensify."

She said the problem of Aids was unfolding in the context of declining health services, critical drug shortages and a massive brain drain making it more difficult to effectively support Aids patients. Jackson has written a book entitled: Aids Africa-Continent in Crisis, which takes a critical look at the devastating effects of Aids on the African continent.

The book focuses on some of the hardest hit countries, especially in Southern Africa, which is by far the worst affected region in the world. It also explores the driving forces behind the epidemic, the impact of HIV/Aids at different levels, and policies and programmes that make a difference.

Commenting on the book, Bummi Makinwa, the team leader of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids, (UNAids), said "No terrorist attack, no war, has ever threatened the lives of more than 40 million people worldwide. Aids does and this book documents the facts, the stories and the data."

The 440-page book was published by SafAids and will be officially launched during the ongoing 14th International Aids Conference in Barcelona, Spain.