There are four principal reasons for this. It is in exactly these areas of the globe where the population increase is known to be most rapid. Though family planning will obviously improve the situation there is little likelihood of making inroads into the projected population increase in the next decade. Tuberculosis is the commonest cause of death in these individuals. The epidemic has overwhelmed the health services in all sub-Saharan African countries.
Tuberculosis causes more maternal deaths than all other causes of maternal death put together.
The danger is that HIV infection will spread across Asia as rapidly as it has done across Africa, where the great majority of the world populations reside. HIV infection in parts of India and Thailand is already reaching epidemic proportions. The association between poverty and tuberculosis is well established. Even within the developed world the highest rates of disease are seen in the poorest sections of the community. As the world population increases in some of the poorest areas of the world so the number of people living in poverty has increased.