JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- In a country where the AIDS virus is spreading at an estimated rate of 1,500 new infections per day, the South African government on Friday made an urgent appeal for a nationwide effort to fight the killer disease.

"For too long we have closed our eyes as a nation ... We face the danger that half of our youth will not reach adulthood ... Our dreams as a people will be shattered," said Deputy President Thabo Mbeki in an unusual live broadcast.

Some 83 percent of the world's AIDS deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. The region is home to two thirds of the world's entire HIV population -- nearly 21 million men, women and children.

South Africa is one of the hardest-hit areas on the continent. The United Nations AIDS program (UNAIDS) estimates nearly 13 percent of the adult population is HIV- positive. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.

In some areas, the infection rates among pregnant women reach 30 percent. And experts say nine out of 10 people who are HIV-positive don't know they have been infected. An estimated 38 million people inhabit South Africa.

UNAIDS predicts South Africa's life expectancy could fall from 62 years to 40 by 2010.

The bleak picture has prompted the government to launch an 80 million rand ($14 million) AIDS awareness campaign. Every ministry and every sector of society has been called upon to provide AIDS education programs, condom distribution plans, fund raising and other means to battle the pandemic.

Mbeki

Mbeki delivered his speech at Ethembeni House, a Salvation Army home in Johannesburg for abandoned children with HIV.

"For too long we have closed our eyes as a nation, hoping the truth was not so real," he said. "For many years, we have allowed (the AIDS virus) to spread, and at a rate in our country which is one of the fastest in the world."

"Now HIV-AIDS walks with us. It travels with us wherever we go ... We have carried it in small and big coffins to too many graveyards," Mbeki said.

"You have the right to live your life the way your want. But I appeal to the young people ... to abstain from sex for as long as possible. If you decide to engage in sex, use a condom," Mbeki pleaded to the public.

Health officials have had difficulty encouraging Africans to use condoms. In some parts of the continent, men regard the condom as an unnatural intrusion and birth control as an issue for women.

Most children born to HIV-infected mothers are abandoned

The problem is compounded by a common myth in some South African townships where residents believe AIDS is brought on by evil spirits and that an infected man can be cured by sleeping with a virgin. Some residents also believe that fat women cannot be HIV positive.

Many HIV patients are also reluctant to admit they've been infected or to seek treatment for the illness, because South African society attaches a very strong stigma to the disease.

Sufferers are sometimes cast out by their families or driven out of the community, which leaves them jobless and destitute.

"They are human beings like you and me ... each one of us can become infected," Mbeki cautioned in his speech. "There is no other moment but the present to take action ... Act now."

Mbeki delivered the speech for President Nelson Mandela, who canceled his appointments for 10 days after suffering a bout of exhaustion.

Correspondent Lara Logan, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

"Ryan White: My Own Story" by Ryan White,Ann N M. Cunningham "The Guide to Living with HIV Infection: Developed at the Johns Hopkins AIDS Clinic, Fourth Edition" by John G. Bartlett,Ann K. Finkbeiner "Questions and Answers on AIDS" by Lyn R. Frumkin,Elisabeth Kubler-Ross "The HIV Wellness SourceBook" by Kalia Doner "Alex, the Kid with AIDS" by Linda Walvoord Girard,Abby Levine (Editor),Blanche Sims (Illustrator) Click here for additional reading on HIV Virus