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Timeline of AIDS in Africa

This timeline features some of the most important developments in the history of AIDS in Africa. Much more detailed information can be found in our individual Africa country pages.

back to top Events are divided into five categories as follows:

  • Spread of AIDS
  • Science and prevention
  • Treatment
  • Global action
  • National event

back to top Before 1970s

  • A form of simian immunodeficiency virus probably transfers to humans in Central Africa around 1930. The mutated virus would later become known as HIV-1.
  • The virus that would later become known as HIV-2 probably transfers to humans from sooty mangabey monkeys in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa around 1960.1

back to top 1970s

  • Doctors in Zaire (later DRC) and Burundi see a rise in certain infections such as cryptococcal meningitis and PCP, a type of pneumonia, as well as diarrhoea and severe wasting.2

back to top 1982

  • A fatal wasting disease, known locally as ‘slim’, is becoming increasingly common in South West Uganda.3

back to top 1983

  • Heterosexually transmitted AIDS is noticed in a group of African patients in Belgium.4
  • Doctors in Zambia and Zaire are aware of a new aggressive form of Kaposi's sarcoma, which had previously been endemic but non-fatal.5

back to top 1984

  • Western scientists confirm that AIDS is widespread in parts of Africa, with strong indications of heterosexual transmission.6
  • The first AIDS research project in Africa, ‘Project SIDA’ is launched in Kinshasa, DRC.7

back to top 1985

  • Western scientists debate whether "slim disease" in Uganda is a new syndrome or identical to AIDS.8

back to top 1986

  • Uganda begins promoting sexual behaviour change in response to AIDS.9

back to top 1987

  • The first antiretroviral drug (AZT) is licensed to treat people with HIV, but is unavailable to virtually everyone in Africa.10
  • President Kaunda of Zambia announces that his son has died of AIDS.11
  • The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) is founded in Uganda.The New York Times12

back to top 1990

  • There are an estimated 5,500,000 HIV cases in Africa and more than 650,000 estimated AIDS cases.13

back to top 1993

  • An estimated 9 million adults in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV, with 1.7 million AIDS cases.14
  • The recorded number of HIV infections in South Africa grows by 60% in two years.15

back to top 1995

  • There are an estimated 1.9 million new infections in sub-Saharan Africa.16

back to top 1996

  • HIV prevalence among young pregnant women in Lesotho shoots up to 26% from 3.9% in 1992.17
  • Effective combination therapy drugs become widely available in the West but are too expensive for most people living with AIDS in Africa.18

back to top 1997

  • Fela Kuti, Nigeria’s most famous musician dies of Kaposi’s Sarcoma, an AIDS-related illness.

back to top 1998

  • A South African AIDS activist, Gugu Dlamini, is beaten to death by her neighbours after revealing her HIV positive status on television.19
  • HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa account for 70% of infections worldwide.20
  • The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is founded by Zackie Achmat to lobby the South African government for access to AIDS drugs.

back to top 1999

back to top 2000

  • Two thirds of 15 year-old children in Botswana are predicted to die of AIDS before they reach 50.23
  • Five pharmaceutical companies offer to negotiate steep reductions in the prices of AIDS drugs for Africa.24
  • An International AIDS Conference is held in Africa for the first time.25
  • President Mbeki withdraws from the "does HIV cause AIDS” debate after causing much controversy.26

back to top 2001

  • It is estimated that 4.7 million South Africans are HIV-positive, including 24.5% of pregnant women.27
  • Nkosi Johnson, who famously fought for the rights of HIV positive people in South Africa, dies of AIDS aged twelve.28

back to top 2002

  • The Global Fund is established to boost the response to AIDS, TB and malaria in developing countries.29
  • Botswana begins Africa’s first national AIDS treatment programme.30
  • The South African government approves AZT as post exposure prophylaxis for women who have been raped.31

back to top 2003

  • Drug manufacturers lower the prices of antiretroviral drugs for resource-poor countries.32
  • WHO launches the “3 by 5” initiative to widen access to AIDS treatment in developing countries.33
  • Of 4.1 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who need treatment for HIV, just over 1% are accessing it.34

back to top 2004

  • President Bush launches PEPFAR, a $15 billion AIDS initiative with 12 focus African countries.35
  • The South African government begins funding antiretroviral treatment for AIDS patients.36
  • Uganda has reduced its HIV prevalence by 70% since the early 1990s.37

back to top 2005

  • The G8 summit leaders promise to double aid to Africa and to ensure near universal access to antiretroviral treatment worldwide by 2010.38
  • Nelson Mandela announces that his eldest son has died of AIDS.39

back to top 2006

  • 28% of people in sub-Saharan Africa who need treatment for HIV are receiving it.40
  • Large studies of male circumcision reveal firm evidence that the procedure reduces the risk of HIV infection.41

back to top 2007

  • Botswana has succeeded in cutting its mother-to-child transmission rate to under 4% - a rate comparable with the USA and Western Europe.42
  • The South African government adopts a comprehensive plan to tackle the country's epidemic, under the leadership of Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.43

back to top 2008

  • The UNAIDS annual report describes a stabilisation of most epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa.44
  • Around 2,925,000 people are recieving antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa, an increase from 2,100,000 in 2007.45

back to top 2009

  • On his first visit to Africa, Pope Benedict XVI controversially describes AIDS as
    “a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, and that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems”.46
  • Results are released from a circumcision trial in Uganda. The research shows circumcision of men living with HIV does not prevent transmission to their female partners.47

back to top 2010

  • As the target date for universal access passes it is revealed that 3.9 million of the 10.6 million people in need of antiretroviral treatment in Africa are receiving it.48
  • A large scale microbicide trial involving 900 South African women is found to reduce the risk of HIV acquisition by 39 percent.49
Nominet Winner 2012

References back to top

  1. John Pickrell (2006) ""Timeline: HIV & AIDS", New Scientist, September 4
  2. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (1998) 'The historical question of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in the 1960s in the Congo River Basin area in relation to cryptococcal meningitis' 58 273-6; Scandinavian Journal of Infectious diseases (1987) ''Early Aids cases originating from Zaire and Burundi' (1962-1976) 19, 511-17
  3. Serwadda D, Mugerwa RD, Sewankambo NK, et al (1985) 'Slim disease: a new disease in Uganda and its association with HTLV-III infection', the Lancet, 2:849-52
  4. Weller I., Crawford D.H., Iliescu V., MacLennan K., Sutherland S., Tedder R.S., and Adler M.W. (1984) 'Homosexual men in London: Lymphadenopathy, immune status, and Epstein-Barr virus infection', Annals of the New York Academy of Science, Volume 437, edited by Selikoff I.J, Teirstein A.S. and Hirschman S.Z., The New York Academy of Sciences, p.248-249
  5. Bayley A.C. (1984) 'Aggressive Kaposi's sarcoma in Zambia', 1983', the Lancet 1:1318-20; Coker R, Wood PB (1986) 'Changing patterns of Kaposi's sarcoma in N.E. Zaire', Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg., 1986;80(6):965-6
  6. Van de Perre, P, Rouvroy D.Lepage, P et. al. (1984) 'Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome in Rwanda', the Lancet 2:62-5; Piot P, Quinn T.C., Taelman H. et al. (1984), 'Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome in a heterosexual population in Zaire', the Lancet 2:65-69
  7. Illiffe, J (2006) "The African AIDS epidemic: A History" James Currey Press Oxford. Pg 13
  8. Serwadda D, Mugerwa RD, Sewankambo NK, et al (1985) 'Slim disease: a new disease in Uganda and its association with HTLV-III infection' , the Lancet, 2:849-52 and Kamradt, T., Niese, D., Vogel F. (1985) 'Slim disease (AIDS)', the Lancet 1985;ii: 1425
  9. AIDS Action (1987) "Uganda: an AIDS control programme" Nov;(1):66.
  10. FDA 'HIV/AIDS historical time line 1981-1990'
  11. Bureau of Hygiene & Tropical Diseases (1987), 'AIDS Newsletter', Issue 16, October
  12. (1990) ' AIDS in Africa: A killer rages on' September 16
  13. Chin, J. (1990) 'Global estimates of AIDS and HIV infections: 1990' in AIDS 1990, 'A year in review', Current Science Ltd. p. S277-S283
  14. WHO (1995) 'Global Programme on AIDS, progress report 1992-1993', p.2
  15. Bureau of Hygiene & Tropical Diseases (1993) 'AIDS newsletter' Vol.8 (7/8) May 31
  16. Human Sciences Research Council (2004) 'An Audit of HIV/AIDS policies in Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe', p.8
  17. Human Sciences Research Council (2004) 'An Audit of HIV/AIDS policies in Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe', p.8
  18. Brown D. (1996) 'With fanfare, Global AIDS Conference gets underway in Vancouver', the Washington Post, July 8
  19. The Associated Press (1998) 'HIV Positive SAfrica Woman Murdered', December 28
  20. UNAIDS (1998) 'AIDS epidemic update' [pdf], December
  21. Swarns R.L. (2000) 'South Africa in a furor over advice about AIDS', the New York Times, March 19
  22. National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (1999) 'Researchers identify a simple, affordable drug regimen that is highly effective in preventing HIV infection in infants or mothers with the disease', July 14
  23. Gottlieb S. (2000) 'UN says up to half the teenagers in Africa will die of AIDS', the BMJ 53:67 July 8
  24. Kahn J. (2000) 'U.S. offers Africa billions to fight AIDS', the New York Times, July 19
  25. Swarns R. and L.K. Altman (2000) 'Amid controversy, South Africa opens World AIDS forum', the New York Times, July 19
  26. Agence France-Presse (2000) 'S Africa's Mbeki withdraws from HIV/AIDS debate: report', October 15
  27. Sidley P. (2001) '1 in 4 pregnant women in South Africa has HIV', the BMJ 322:755, March 31
  28. The Independent (2001) 'Nkosi Johnson dies as he lived, a symbol of the tragedy of Aids ; AFRICA'S CRISIS The boy whose simple eloquence shamed South Africa's president finally succumbs to the illness he fought with such courage.', June 2.
  29. Brown D. (2002) 'Global Fund rebuffs U.S. in picking leader', the Washington post, April 25
  30. Irin News (2002) 'BOTSWANA: Free antiretroviral campaign might not last', January 2002
  31. Sidley P. (2002) 'Mbeki forced to do a U turn over AIDS drugs', the BMJ 324:997, April 27
  32. Sharma D. C. (2003) 'ARV prices nosedive after Clinton brokering', The Lancet 362:1467, November 1
  33. Kapp C. (2003) 'AIDS campaign signals new WHO priorities and approach', The Lancet 362:1900-1901, December 6
  34. Fleck F. (2003) 'WHO issues global alert after grim report on HIV/AIDS', BMJ 327:698, September 27
  35. Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, U.S. Department of State (2004) 'Bringing Hope and Saving Lives: Building Sustainable HIV/AIDS Treatment', August
  36. UNAIDS (2008) 'South Africa'
  37. Pilcher H.R. (2004) 'Uganda's HIV epidemic wanes', Nature
  38. Guardian (2005) 'G8 leaders agree $ 15bn Africa package', July 10
  39. BBC News (2005) 'Mandela's eldest son dies of AIDS', January 6
  40. WHO/UNAIDS/UNICEF (2007) 'Towards Universal Access: Scaling up priority HIV/AIDS interventions in the health sector'
  41. WHO (2007) 'WHO and UNAIDS announce recommendations from expert consultation on male circumcision for HIV prevention' 28 March
  42. The Boston Globe (2007) 'Saving the Babies: A Victory in Africa', 27 August
  43. Reuters (2007) 'FACTBOX - South Africa's new HIV/AIDS plan'
  44. UNAIDS (2008) 'Report on the global AIDS epidemic'
  45. WHO/UNAIDS/UNICEF (2009) 'Towards Universal Access: scaling up priority HIV/AIDS interventions in the health sector'
  46. Times Online (2009, 17th March) 'Pope says condoms are not the solution to Aids - they make it worse'
  47. Wawer, M. J et al (2009) 'Circumcision in HIV-infected men and its effect on HIV transmssion to female partners in Rakai, Uganda: a randomized controlled trial', The Lancet, 18th July, Vol. 374, 9685: 229-237
  48. WHO/UNAIDS/UNICEF (2010) 'Towards Universal Access: Scaling up priority HIV/AIDS Interventions in the Health Sector'
  49. Karim, Q.A. et al (2010) 'Effectiveness and safety of tenofovir gel, an antiretroviral microbicide, for the prevention of HIV infection in women', 19th July 2010, Sciencexpress