Saharan Africa, where the adult prevalence rate for 15-49 year olds was the highest in the world by far at 7.5 percent against a world average of 1.1 percent. The report said 12.3 million of the world's 15 million children already orphaned by HIV/AIDS were in sub-Saharan Africa, and it was estimated that by 2010 more than 18 million African children would have lost one or more parents to the pandemic unless swift action was taken. Sub-Saharan Africa's life expectancy at birth in 2003 was 46 years against a world average of 63 and, while globally life expectancy had risen by seven years since 1970, it had actually fallen in 18 African countries over the same period. Mortality rates for under fives in 2003 in sub-Saharan Africa were 175 per 1,000 against a world average of 80, while maternal mortality per 100,000 live births was 940 against a global average of 400. --More 2338 Local Time 2038 GMT
