As many as 171,500 Colombians may be infected with HIV and some
57,000 have AIDS. The findings come from a UN population report on
Colombia which includes HIV/AIDS statistics for the first time. The
report includes data through the end of 2007 and is posted on the
UN's United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) website.
Most of the patients infected with AIDS are young men between the
ages of 15 and 35.
Deputy Health Minister Blanca Elvira Cajigas told the Spanish news
agency EFE that 1 in 4 AIDS patients are living in Bogota and added
that the cities with the highest number of cases are Bogota, Cali,
Medellin and Barrranquilla.
Colombia is a rural country where poverty affects 80 percent of
the population and the majority of people do not have health
insurance. AIDS treatment in the country is estimated to cost $300
per month on average – in a country where 20 percent of the
population lives on one dollar a day.
The UNFPA uses population data to support policies and programs
that reduce poverty and increase health awareness.