AIDS will kill 7m South Africans by 2010 - report

A controversial report opposed by the South African Government has shown that AIDS could kill up to seven million people in the country before 2010.

The study by the Medical Research Council found that AIDS will account for one-third of all deaths in South Africa this year, rising to nearly two-thirds by the end of the decade.

The report also said AIDS will slash life expectancy in South Africa from 54 to 41 years by 2010.

The government has disputed the report’s findings, but its authors have accused officials of ignorance. South Africa has drawn widespread criticism for its mishandling of the AIDS crisis and had hoped to delay the release of the Medical Research Council’s report until December.

It wanted the publication of the report to coincide with the release of another set of AIDS statistics compiled by a government agency controlled by the Finance Ministry.