UN reports drop in HIV infections and deaths

All epidemics run their course, but concerted action can give them a helping hand to the finish line, said Economist.com. The 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update from the UNs World Health Organisation (WHO) and its Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) suggests that this is now happening as more people are gaining access to antiretroviral drugs and HIV-prevention programmes.

The report estimates that there has been a 17% drop in new HIV infections over the past eight years, with the biggest fall, 25%, in East Asia; in sub-Saharan Africa, the hardest-hit region, the deline is 15%, denoting 400,000 fewer infection last year than in 2001 although 1.9m Africans are still being infected each year. New infections in eastern Europe have also levelled off. About 200,000 new infections among children have been prevented since 2001 as HIV-positive mothers have received treatment with retrovirals.

Moreover, during the past five years the number of people succumbing to the disease has slid by 10%, says the Update. Since 1996, 2.9 milion lives have been saved thanks to the availability of effective treatments and a boost in funding. Still, last year, 2 million people died of an AIDS-related illness, 2.7 million were newly infected and 33.4 million were living with the disease, up from 33 million in 2007 as fewer people are dying of it.