Statistics don't count

Swaziland's true hardship rears its ugly head in the form of HIV/AIDS. The World Health Organization's official report on Swaziland has the infection rate at upwards of 40.4% of the adult populace (15-49 years) as of 2003. However, Swaziland's National Emergency Response Counsel for HIV/AIDS organization has recently released statistics indicating an infection rate of 42.6%. The WHO's life expectancy statistics (2005) are abysmal: 38 for males, 37 for females. The US Central Intelligence Agency world fact book publishes even lower numbers (males: 31.8 years; females: 32.6 years) and pegs life expectancy as the world's lowest. UNICEF anticipates that more than 10% of Swaziland's population will be orphans by 2010, which translates into a staggering 120 000 youngsters in one of the world's poorest nations.