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Sat, 19:30 21 Nov 2009 GMT17

 
AIDS pandemic

Last reviewed: 26-11-2008

AN UNPARALLELED THREAT TO HUMAN WELFARE


AIDS pins at the 2006 HIV/AIDS conference in Toronto.<BR> REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
AIDS pins at the 2006 HIV/AIDS conference in Toronto.
REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
Twenty-five years after HIV/AIDS was first identified, 33 million people are living with the virus. Most are in sub-Saharan Africa but the virus is spreading fast in Asia and Eastern Europe.

  • Most HIV+ people don't know they're infected
  • Women make up nearly 60 percent of new infections in sub-Saharan Africa
  • Anti-retroviral drugs reach only 31 percent of those who need them

    While some countries have been successful at containing the virus - including Brazil, Uganda and Cuba - others are experiencing soaring infection levels. Swaziland has the highest level of infection - a quarter of people aged 15 to 49.

    The good news is that some of the worst-affected countries - Burkina Faso, Kenya, Haiti and Zimbabwe - have recently reduced their infection rates.

    But as infection levels continue to rise, international controversies rage over issues such as drug-pricing and the promotion of condom use.

    On a local level, AIDS workers have to grapple with social stigma as well as shortages of medical staff and drugs.

    KEY FACTS


    Estimated new infections in 2007 2.7 million (UNAIDS 2008 report)
    Estimated AIDS deaths in 2007 2 million (UNAIDS)
    Total number living with HIV in 2007 33 million (UNAIDS)
    Number living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa in 2007 22 million (67 percent of total) (UNAIDS)

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