By the Numbers: Challenges, progress apparent on World AIDS Day
(RNN) - Thursday, Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day.
While the battle for zero new HIV infections wages on in the 30th year of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, there are signs of promise.
A 15 percent decrease in new infections occurred during the past decade, according to the most recent Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Response, co-authored by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and UNAIDS.
The progress is attributed to an increased access to HIV services, including antiretroviral drug therapy. In 2002, for example, just 300,000 people had access to the important medications. By the close of 2010, that number had increased to more than 6.6 million.
In a news release, Paul De Lay, deputy executive director of UNAIDS, championed 2011 as a "game changing year" for HIV/AIDS.
"With new science, unprecedented political leadership and continued progress in the AIDS response, countries have a window of opportunity to seize this momentum and take their responses to the next level," De Lay said. "By investing wisely, countries can increase efficiencies, reduce costs and improve on results. However, gains made to date are being threatened by a decline in resources for AIDS."
Another challenge in the battle against HIV/AIDS is a lack of support for key population groups, who remain especially vulnerable to HIV infection, including the 3.4 million HIV-infected children around the world. They represent a staggering 10 percent of all people living with the virus.
In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, there was a 250 percent increase in new HIV infections over the past decade. Men and women who inject drugs account for 60 percent of that population, yet only 22 percent of those individuals have access to antiretroviral therapy.
Here's a look at the global HIV/AIDS epidemic by the numbers:
34 million: Worldwide HIV-positive population at the close of 2010.
22.9 million: Largest regional HIV population, which is located in Sub-Saharan Africa.
5.6 million: Largest national HIV-positive population, which is located in South Africa.
16: Percent of HIV-positive adults in Kenya who knew of their infection in 2010.
1.2 million: HIV-positive population in the U.S.
20: Percent of HIV-positive individuals living in the U.S. who are unaware of their status.
1.8 million: Worldwide AIDS-related deaths in 2010.
250,000: Deaths attributed to children younger than 15.
2005: Peak year for number of AIDS-related deaths - 2.2 million.
594,500: AIDS-related deaths in the U.S. since the beginning of the epidemic.
2.7 million: New HIV infections contracted throughout the world in 2010.
390,000: Children newly infected with HIV.
21: Percent decrease in HIV infections between 1997 and 2010.
33: Countries whose HIV incidence fell last year.
6.6 million: People in low- and middle-income countries with access to antiretroviral drugs - a key driver of this decrease.
250: Percent increase in new HIV infections in Central Asia and Eastern Europe since 2001.
90: Percent of that epidemic accounted for by the Russian Federation and the Ukraine.
0: United Nations goal for new HIV infections, discrimination and AIDS-related deaths.
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Copyright 2011 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved. Sources: UNAIDS World AIDS Day Report 2011, Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Response and HIV in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
An estimated 34 million people across the world are HIV-positive. (Source: RNN)
