Date: 24 November 2009
Source: World Health Organisation
According to the 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update, new HIV infections reduced by 17% (400,000 fewer infections per year) since 2001. In East Asia HIV incidence has declined by nearly 25% and in South and South East Asia by 10%. In Eastern Europe, after a dramatic increase in infections among injecting drug users, the epidemic has leveled off. However, in some countries there are signs that HIV incidence is rising again. There are more people - 33.4 million - living with HIV than ever before due to population growth and a 10% decline in AIDS-related deaths because of antiretroviral therapy. Around 200,000 new child infections have been prevented since 2001 due to prevention of mother to child transmission using antiretrovirals. The impact of the AIDS response is high where HIV prevention and treatment programmes are integrated with other health and social welfare services. Early evidence shows that HIV may have a significant impact on maternal mortality. The face of the epidemic is changing and prevention efforts are not keeping up. For example, in Asia an epidemic once characterised by transmission through sex work and injecting drug use is increasingly affecting heterosexual couples. Few HIV prevention programmes exist for people over 25, married couples, widowers and divorcees - groups with high HIV prevalence in many sub-Saharan African countries. Funding for HIV prevention is low: only 17% of Swaziland's AIDS budget was spent on prevention despite a 26% national prevalence and Ghana's prevention budget was cut in 2007 by 43% from 2005 levels.
