HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan AfricaIntroductionSub-Saharan Africa is experiencing a major HIV/AIDS epidemic with millions of people living with the disease. It has now become a human tragedy in many areas of the world, but the most affected is sub-Saharan Africa. It is no coincidence that the countries most affected by HIV/AIDS are also the poorest. HIV/AIDS is now considered the most important obstacle to social progress in many African countries. This report will analyze the current situation using up-to-date sources from articles, books and the World Wide Web. United Nations Millennium Development Goals At the start of the new millennium, all 191 member states of the United Nations have committed to achieving all United Nations Millennium Goals by 2015. These goals covered issues such as poverty, hunger, education, aid, gender equality, infant mortality, antenatal care, environmental sustainability and HIV/AIDS. All states in the United Nations have agreed to "stop and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS" (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/). Currently, HIV prevalence rates are still increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. The rate is seven times higher in developing countries than in developed countries. Many different programs are trying to reverse this trend. These patterns include, â?¦. Oxfam, which works to alleviate the suffering of the developing world, believes that the only plan that will help reduce HIV/AIDS in developing countries is to cancel the world's debt. Unsustainable debt represents a huge obstacle to progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Some repayments to creditors in the world's poorest countries are diverting resources needed to respond to current suffering." (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/debt_aid/bp25_debt_hivaids.htm) Oxfam and other similar organizations they believe that countries with interest rates could help them solve the AIDS epidemic if they did not have to repay huge debts to the developed world Unfortunately this disease is not easy to combat. The disease is still considered taboo today and it is difficult to talk about it