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Joel Chiziane/OxfamAus

HIV and AIDS

The spread of HIV remains a global health disaster.

Every day, more than 8,500 people around the world die of AIDS-related illness. And too many of the 35 million people infected with HIV have only ever known hardship.

Why? Because the burden of HIV and AIDS – the cost of medical treatment, funerals for family members, and caring for children orphaned by it – throws households and communities deeper into poverty.

We work directly with people affected by HIV and AIDS around the world, helping them regain a sense of hope. In Southern Africa, for instance, we train and support home-based carers – local volunteers who, with Oxfam’s support, provide care to sick, elderly and orphaned people.

We also lobby for change, pressing governments and other donors to provide the $10 billion a year needed for universal HIV and AIDS prevention work, treatment and care.

Find out more about our HIV and AIDS work