Dr. Debrework Zewide, the World Bank's global coordinator for HIV/AIDS, said African governments must create "an enabling environment" where citizens can openly confront the issue.

One country that has created such an environment, Zewide said, is Kenya--a nation where religious groups once burned condoms in the streets. Now, she said the country's government is beginning to acknowledge that it is important for its citizens to have access to contraceptives.

If the epidemic is not controlled soon, Marlink said, any advances that had been made in life expectancy on the African continent will soon be erased.

He said the diagnosed AIDS rate among pregnant women in Botswana has increased from five percent to 40 percent in just two years.

"All advances in life expectancy in Africa are being wiped out this year and next year," he claimed.

Marlink also asked audience members to glance at the people in their row.

"[In Africa] one out of every four or five would have AIDS," he said.

The event was sponsored by the Institute of Politics and was moderated by K. Anthony Appiah, professor of Afro-American studies.