In Swaziland, one in three people are living with HIV. Since the first cases were reported in 1986, the virus has spread at an alarming rate and now 38.6% percent of the country’s adult population are infected – the highest HIV prevalence rate worldwide. It has devastated the country. Around 10,000 adults and children died from AIDS in 2007 alone. The impact of Swaziland’s epidemic has been so severe that life expectancy has dropped to just 32 years - the lowest in the world.

The world’s highest HIV prevalence and the increasing number of deaths due to AIDS are having an unprecedented impact on Swaziland. This impact is manifested by rapidly rising poverty, a growing number of orphans, and decreases in the health and productivity of Swaziland’s economy. The effect on rural communities has been particularly brutal.
As it stands, 80 percent of the population in rural areas is estimated to be living below the poverty line, with 48% living in extreme poverty. HIV/AIDS related issues have not only affected Swaziland as a nation, but will cause long term, complex and widespread consequences for Swaziland’s children in the future.