Care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS

Annex 2. HIV/AIDS estimates and data, end 1999Adult (thousands)Population aged 15–49 in 1999 (UN Population Division, Department of Economicand Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat).5. Ranges of uncertainty around prevalence and mortality estimatesThe best estimates of HIV prevalence and AIDS deaths are given under indicators 1and 3 (see above). Depending on the reliability of the data available, there may bemore or less uncertainty surrounding each such estimate. Indicator 5 thereforepresents both low and high estimates for certain variables. The wider the range,the greater the uncertainty surrounding the country’s estimates, which in turndepends mainly on the quality, coverage and consistency of the country’s surveillancesystem.While a measure of uncertainty applies to all estimates, in this report ranges ofuncertainty are presented for the following key variables:• the estimated number of adults and children living with HIV/AIDS at the endof 1999• the estimated number of AIDS deaths in adults (15–49) during 1999• the estimated number of AIDS deaths in children (0–14) during 1999.6. Estimated HIV prevalence rate (%) in young people, end 1999The estimated number of young people (15–24) living with HIV/AIDS at the end of1999 divided by the 1999 population of young people (15–24). These countryspecificestimates are expressed as a range generated by regional modelling.7. HIV prevalence rate (%), data from selected populationsPercentage of people tested in each group who were found to be infected with HIV.Most of these data are from routine sentinel surveillance (see Annex 1).For each of the groups the table gives the year of the most recent report, the medianfor all surveillance sites, the minimum and the maximum.Data from surveillance among pregnant women at antenatal care clinics are brokendown into urban populations and populations living outside major urban areas. Trulyrural areas often have no sentinel surveillance sites at all.Nearly all the data on groups with high-risk behaviour such as injecting drug use andsex work come from studies in urban areas. Data marked with an “r” are from ruralstudies, often conducted in small towns outside major urban centres. An “n”denotes a nationwide number that does not allow for a rural–urban breakdown.121