Africans do not see AIDS as a dire problem, unlike health experts, who predict the pandemic will unleash catastrophic consequences on the continent, according to a survey conducted in 15 African countries during 2002-2003 by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa. According to the study, for which 23,000 adults were interviewed, many Africans, especially in East and southern Africa, had either lost relatives or friends to the disease or were affected by it in some other way, but many were undecided about whether their governments should divert resources from other priorities to fight AIDS.