A husband's extramarital relations now carry the risk that not only he may become infected but that he may bring home infection that could also kill his wife. The converse is also true, though less frequently so. About 5.6 million people became newly infected in 1999. 35 More than 90 per cent of these live in developing countries where HIV is most commonly spread through heterosexual transmission. The pandemic is a profoundly destabilizing force, destroying families and communities, sowing misery and tragedy on a wide scale and retarding the development prospects of entire nations.
Men are twice as likely as women to infect their partners.
Women are biologically more vulnerable to infection. Finally, most women do not have the power to deny intercourse to their husbands or partners, or to insist they use a condom. The transmission of HIV is facilitated by the presence of other sexually transmitted infections, especially ulcerative infections. Here, too, women are at greater risk. Improve communication between men and women on issues of sexuality and reproductive health, and the understanding of their joint responsibilities, so that they are equal partners in public and private life.