Why is MCC responding to HIV/AIDS?
In countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, communities are being destroyed. In places like Swaziland, where nearly 40% of the adult population is HIV positive, decades of development are being reversed as society’s most productive members die. Other countries in the region that are consistently facing problems of drought, political instability, and heavy debt burdens are being made even more vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. There are less farmers to produce necessary food, less teachers in government schools, and the rate of turnover and lost professional skills in many businesses are having huge economic impacts. Children with ill parents or those who lack the money for school fees have been forced to drop out of school. Millions of orphans have been left behind. Social services from governments are unable to cope with the physical health, emotional, and financial needs of those infected with or affected by the disease. Other regions in the world are increasingly experiencing higher HIV preva
