Swaziland: Life expectancy to drop to 40 yrs by 2010

The Swaziland Vulnerability Assessment Committee (VAC) predicts that the high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate will lower life expectancy to just 40 years by 2010. The first large-scale survey of Swazi homes to determine the impact of HIV/AIDS found a reversal of the decade-long trend of lower mortality rates, due to the pandemic. "Swaziland has entered uncharted territory", concluded the VAC's findings for 2003, released this week. Food aid was the main source of nutrition for rural residents in three of Swaziland's four regions, where drought has ruined harvests for the past three years.