Book Review: AIDS in Africa - Continent in Crisis
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by Helen Jackson

No terrorist attack, no war, has ever threatened the lives of more than 40 million people worldwide. AIDS does.

African countries, and particularly those in Southern Africa, currently bear the heaviest burden of the AIDS epidemic - its effects permeate societies and include children, women, men, rich and poor alike. This book is one of the few on AIDS written from within Africa. Helen Jackson is the author of two previous versions of the highly acclaimed and popular resource book "AIDS Action Now", which has now been extensively expanded and improved into the current book AIDS Africa.

This book documents the facts, the stories, the data - and explores the driving force behind the epidemic, the impact of HIV/AIDS at dif-
ferent levels, and policies and programmes to make a difference. The author provides a comprehensive overview of prevention, care and im-
pact miti-gation, providing up-dated information and raising chal-
lenging issues for policy makers, planners, programme managers and professionals in health and human development.

The chapters include:
* The AIDS pandemic;
* HIV infection and AIDS;
* Medical care and treatment;
* HIV spread and prevention: sex; Parent-to-child HIV transmission;
* Blood transmission;
* Testing and counselling;
* Self-help and the community;
* Children in peril;
* Sectoral impacts and responses; and
* Policy and human rights. The book also contains detailed appendices that will assist the reader in accessing organizations working in the field and resources on HIV/AIDS, and a detailed index.

The cost is US$ 20 Africa, US$ 40 elsewhere and Zim$ 500 in Zimbabwe. However organisations in developing countries that cannot pay may re-
quest subsidised or complimentary copies.

The book may be ordered from:

SAfAIDS Southern Africa AIDS Information Dissemination Service
17 Beveridge Road PO Box A509 Avondale Harare, Zimbabwe Tel: +263-4-336-193/4, 307-898 Fax: +263-4-336-195 mailto:[email protected] http://www.safaids.org.zw