UNAIDS 2007 Global AIDS Report
November 20th, 2007This post was written by Leeds. You can read more posts by: Leeds or more posts in Campaign News
I thought it might be interesting to post the latest UN figures and what the latest large review are saying about AIDS. So I have tried to summarise the report and have given some of my thoughts relating to these new global AIDS epidemic statistics.
It seems that the number of people infected with HIV has decreased by about 6 million, from last year and current levels are at an estimated 33 million. This drop is incredibly large to have occurred in just a one year period and it appears that UNAIDS has slightly changed how it calculates its figures. It has used different sources that are deemed to reflect more reliable data, from a few key countries and so this 6 million does not actually reflect the reality. India is one such country where a vigorous reassessment has shown there to be less HIV cases than previously estimated.
However, this drop in HIV numbers does also seem to show some good news. Experts are agreeing that the number of new infections peaked in the 1990s and a gradual decline of new infections can now be seen. This, hopefully, indicates that prevention strategies are working and people are managing to protect themselves. Yet current estimates suggest that only 1 in 5 of the people who need preventative education is getting this information and programmes are not reaching a wide enough audience.
The report suggests that the number of people dieing from AIDS related illnesses are also staring to drop. The average life time calculated for someone living with HIV is 11 years. However, there is a vast range in numbers of years someone can expect to live, from their time of diagnosis, depending on the country they are living in and whether they can access ARVs.
These gains we have seen are on a global level which does not reflect the individual trends of regions of the world. Eastern Europe has seen a 150% increase in infections in the last 6 years and the UK has seen an increase of 200% in 5 years. This is the highest in Central and Western Europe, though improved reporting is suggested to have contributed by better access to services and increased uptake of testing. Sub-Saharan Africa still has about 2/3 of the worlds HIV population with ¾ of AIDS deaths.
So although there are signs of progress in the battle against AIDS there is still much work to be done, including here in the UK. This is especially the case with access to the medicines which are vitally needed by all wherever they may live.
November 23rd, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Thanks for the summary.
The stats have now changed, there are now more than 6,800 new infections each day and 5,700 people die due to AIDS each day. Other positives are that 30 countries have conducted “national representative population-based household surveys, giving them a much better understanding of the epidemics of their countries and are helping neighboring countries too.
HIV prevalence among young pregnant women (15 – 24) attending antenatal clinics has
declined since 2000/2001 in 11 of the15 most-affected countries. Preliminary data also show
favourable changes in risk behaviour among young people in a number of countries,
(Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Togo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe). These
trends suggest that prevention efforts are having an impact in several of the most affected
countries. Which is great news.
On the other hand the better reporting mostly in India (along with Angola, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe) accounts for 70% of the reduction.
ActionAid have responded by saying “It is not the gap between old and new AIDS estimates that is the scandal but the gap between what is needed and what is being provided to save lives and prevent new infections”.
It’s interesting that Indonesia has the fastest growing epidemic and in Viet Nam number of people living with HIV doubled between 2000 and 2005.
The UN points out “that the new estimates do not change the need for
immediate action and increased funding to scale up towards universal access to HIV
prevention, treatment, care and support services.”
So the fight goes on…
To see more information and maps with statistics for the global regions go to http://www.unaids.org/en/HIV_data/2007EpiUpdate/default.asp