UNAIDS report shows a reverse in spread of HIV

Dec 05, 2010 News

…Total number of people on treatment increased by seven and half times over the last five years

A new UNAIDS report shows that the AIDS epidemic has been halted and that the world is beginning to reverse the spread of HIV, says a report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), that was recently released.
The report stated that new HIV infections have fallen by nearly 20 per cent in the last 10 years, and AIDS-related deaths are down by nearly 20 per cent in the last five years. The total number of people living with HIV is stabilising.
In addition, the AIDS epidemic is beginning to change course as the number of people newly infected with HIV is declining and AIDS-related deaths are decreasing. Together, this is contributing to the stabilisation of the total number of people living with HIV in the world.
At the end of 2009 an estimated 33.3 million people globally were living with HIV, 2.6 million people became newly infected with HIV, and 1.8 million people died from AIDS-related causes.
However, the 2010 report contains basic HIV data from 182 countries and includes country-by-country scorecards. The report gives new evidence that investments in HIV prevention programming are producing significant results in many of the highest burden countries.
In 59 countries including 18 of the 25 countries with the highest HIV prevalence, less than 25 per cent of men reported having sex with more than one partner in the last 12 months.
Eighty-four countries reported the same behaviour trends for women.
The UNAIDS report revealed condom use and availability have increased significantly, and data from 78 countries show that condom use among men who have sex with men was more than 50 per cent in 54 countries.
Reports of condom use by sex workers are also encouraging. While in 69 countries, more than 60 per cent of sex workers used a condom with their last client.
It was noted that even though the number of new HIV infections is decreasing, there are two new HIV infections for every one person starting HIV treatment.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS disclosed that more people are living longer and AIDS-related deaths are declining as access to treatment has expanded.
The total number of people on treatment increased by seven and half times over the last five years with 5.2 million people accessing life-saving drugs in 2009, compared to 700,000 in 2004.
Over the course of the last year alone, an additional 1.2 million people received treatment—a 30 per cent increase compared to 2008.
As more countries are using effective treatment regimens to prevent HIV transmission to babies, the total number of children born with HIV has decreased. An estimated 370,000 children were newly infected with HIV in 2009, representing a drop of 24 per cent from five years earlier.
The report also contains new data which shows that human rights efforts are increasingly being integrated into national AIDS strategies, with 89% of countries explicitly acknowledging or addressing human rights in their AIDS strategies and 91% having programmes in place to reduce stigma and discrimination.
UNAIDS estimates that a total of US$15.9 billion was available for the AIDS response in 2009, US$10 billion short of what is needed in 2010 and funding from international sources appears to be reducing. Donor governments’ disbursements for the AIDS response in 2009 stood at US$ 7.6 billion, lower than the US$ 7.7 billion available in 2008. Declines in international investments will affect low-income countries the most—nearly 90% rely on international funding for their AIDS programmes.

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UNAIDS report shows a reverse in spread of HIV

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