HIV/AIDS Background

The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic

• It is estimated that 33 million people worldwide are infected with HIV, 95 percent of whom live in developing countries. In 2007, approximately 2.5 million people were newly infected with the virus.
• HIV/AIDS has killed more than 25 million people worldwide. More than two million people died of AIDS-related causes in 2007.
• AIDS is the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa and the fourth-leading cause of death worldwide.

Impact on Women, Youth, and Children

Women, young people and children are particularly vulnerable to, and increasingly affected by, HIV/AIDS.

• Since 2005, the number of women and girls infected with HIV has increased in every region of the world, with rates rising more rapidly in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
• Women and girls account for 50 percent of all people living with HIV worldwide, and 61 percent of HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Of the estimated 6,800 new HIV infections every day, about 45 percent are among young people aged 15 to 24. In sub-Saharan Africa, 74 percent of young people aged 15 to 24 living with HIV are female.
• The percentage of pregnant women living with HIV who received antiretroviral treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission increased from 9 percent in 2004 to 33 percent in 2007.
• The number of new HIV infections among children under the age of 15 declined from 460,000 in 2001 to an estimated 420,000 in 2007. At the same time the estimated number of children living with HIV increased from 1.5 million to 2.5 million.
• Almost 90 percent of all HIV-positive children live in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Annual deaths due to AIDS among children peaked in 2005 at 360,000 and began to decline to an estimated 330,000 in 2007.
• Globally, over 15 million children under the age of 18 have lost one or both parents to AIDS.

Regional Impact

• Sub-Saharan Africa is the world's most-affected region. Two thirds (68 percent) of all people infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, even though it is home to only nine percent of the world's overall population. In 2007, an estimated 1.7 million people in the region were newly infected with HIV.
• In Asia, HIV prevalence is highest in South-East Asia, with wide variation in epidemic trends between different countries. Overall, 4.9 million people in Asia were living with HIV in 2007, with 440,000 newly infected in 2006.   
• In Eastern Europe and Central Asia an estimated 150,000 people were infected with HIV in 2007, bringing the total number of HIV-positive people in the region to 1.6 million, a 150 percent increase over 2001. In 2006, nearly 90 percent of new infections were found in two countries: the Russian Federation (66 percent) and Ukraine (21 percent).
• In the Caribbean, AIDS remains one of the leading causes of death among persons aged 25 to 44 years. In 2007, 230,000 people were living with HIV in this region, of whom three quarters lived in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
• In Latin America, the HIV epidemic remains stable, with new infections occurring mainly among populations at higher risk, such as sex workers and men who have sex with men. In 2007, 100,000 people were newly infected with HIV, bringing the total number of HIV-positive people in this region to 1.6 million.
• The number of people living with HIV is increasing in North America and Western and Central Europe, where 2.1 million people were living with the disease in 2007, including 78,000 who acquired HIV in the past year. Due to the life-prolonging effects of antiretroviral therapy, relatively few people (32,000) died of AIDS in 2007.

Social, Economic, and Development Impact

• AIDS was declared a development crisis by the World Bank in 2000. It is estimated that per capita growth in half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa is falling by 0.5%-1.2% each year as a direct result of AIDS.
• Health care systems in many countries are overwhelmed by a growing number of HIV/AIDS patients. Studies forecast that health care costs in hardest hit countries may increase tenfold over the next several years as a result of the epidemic.
• HIV/AIDS overburdens social systems and hinders educational development. Across sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the disease is claiming the lives of thousands of teachers and leading to school closures.
• The epidemic also inhibits agricultural production in many areas by reducing investments in irrigation, soil enhancement, and other capital improvements.

Prevention and Care

• There is abundant evidence that science-based HIV prevention is effective, especially when backed by high-level political leadership, a national AIDS programme, adequate funding, and strong community involvement. Components of successful prevention efforts include clear and accurate communication about HIV/AIDS and methods to prevent infection, HIV counseling and testing, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
• The vast majority of people living with HIV/AIDS in the developing world do not have access to treatment, as a result of limited health care infrastructures and the high cost of many medications.

Portions of this fact sheet are reproduced with permission from UNAIDS and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.