"The threat of HIV/AIDS in many of the countries in which cricket is played is acute and it is in keeping with the spirit of cricket that the ICC exercises this social responsibility,"

ICC President Ehsan Mani

The cricket world and HIV/AIDS

• There are 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the world.|
  
  • Of these, 12 million live in the main cricket-playing countries.
    
  • Nearly nine million live in India and South Africa alone.
• In the West Indies, HIV is spreading rapidly.
• Despite current low levels of infection in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the potential for the spread of HIV is high without effective education.
• Current trends in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, show a rise in sexually transmitted infections and in unsafe sex practices, signaling the need for renewed prevention efforts.
• Around 4,000 people become infected with HIV in South Asia alone during the time it takes to play a Test match.