Here is another angle to look at causes of death statistics for South Africa.  The blue line shows the number of deaths reported annually between 1997 until 2016.  The red line shows the number of HIV-related deaths reported on the death notification form over the same period.  Whereas, the green line shows our estimated number of HIV-related deaths.  The gap between the red and green line reflects deaths that should have been reported as HIV-related.  The consequence of inaccurate statistics on HIV-related deaths was that the government had reason to delay rolling out anti-retroviral treatment resulting in an estimated 1 million deaths that could have been averted.