Swaziland AIDS Toll Rising. 23/6/10

Statisticians in Swaziland say the death rate more than doubled in a decade in the southern African kingdom, proof of the toll of Aids.

Mbabane - Statisticians in Swaziland say the death rate more than doubled in a decade in the southern African kingdom, proof of the toll of Aids.

Nombulelo Dlamini of the Central Statistical Office discussed a new study comparing 1997 and 2007 censuses in an interview on Wednesday. The study shows that in 1997, the death rate was 7.6 people in 1 000. By 2007, it was 18.03 people.

Dlamini says Aids has contributed to the increase and that without Aids therapy drugs, deaths would "be reaching alarming proportions".

The UN says the prevalence in Swaziland of HIV, the virus that causes Aids, is nearly 40%, the highest in the world. Swaziland neighbours South Africa, which has an estimated 5.7 million people with HIV, more than any other country.