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Background
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Present situation and trends
Facts and figures
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) regularly publishes reports and statistics on HIV and AIDS. Current reliable figures refer to 2010, when a total of around 34 million people worldwide were classed as living with HIV.
There were some 2.7 million people who were newly infected with the HI virus in 2010 (compared to 3.1 million in 1999).
Some 1.8 million people, including around 260,000 children, died of AIDS in 2010 (compared to 2.1 million, including 320,000 children, in 2004).
These figures show that initial successes have been scored in the fight against AIDS. However, they also show that the HIV epidemic still represents one of humanity’s biggest disasters and that the threat of the HI virus spreading further has not yet been averted.
The slight drop in annual new infections and AIDS-related deaths is a success as far as preventive efforts, increasing access to antiretroviral drugs and increased care and support for those living with HIV are concerned. Nevertheless, there are still more than 7,000 new infections every day; nearly 5,000 people die of AIDS each day. Since the epidemic broke out more than 60 million people have become infected; nearly 30 million of them have died.
The situation in sub-Saharan Africa is particularly serious. In 2010, some 23 million people were HIV-positive in that region; in some countries more than one of fifth of the population between 15 and 49 has HIV.
There has also been an increase in HIV infections in some regions in Asia and Eastern Europe. The number of infections in the industrial countries has changed little for years. According to statistics published by the Robert Koch Institute, there were some 73,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Germany at the end of 2011 (200 children, 14,000 women and 59,000 men). There were some 2,800 new infections in Germany in 2011; around 500 AIDS patients died in 2011.
People worst affected
In countries with high infection rates, such as in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV affects the whole of the population. The risk to women and girls becoming infected is high; it is also they who are affected by the negative consequences of the epidemic. That is why it is important to take account of their special needs when it comes to HIV prevention.
Relatives of sexual minorities, immigrants, injecting drug users and sex workers in many parts of Asia as well as in Europe are especially affected by the HIV epidemic. These groups must also have access to preventive measures.
Since it is especially young people between the ages of 15 and 24 who become infected with HIV, they are the most important target group for HIV prevention. They have the best chance of learning through education and awareness-raising how to lead sex lives that are self-determined, partnership-based, safe and free of violence.
In many countries, HIV-positive children still have poor chances of survival. Around 90 per cent of all HIV infections in children are transmitted by mothers: there is a risk that HIV-positive mothers can pass on the virus to their babies before or during childbirth or while breastfeeding. That is why it is essential that action be taken to improve the prevention of mother-to child transmission (PMTCT).
Impact of HIV and AIDS
Average life expectancy in some African countries has regressed to a level last recorded in the 1960s. In South Africa, for example, life expectancy in 1992 stood at 63 years, then fell to 45 in 2004; by 2008 it had risen again to 51 years.
Because HIV and AIDS hit the young and middle-aged generations hardest, these sectors of the population are getting steadily smaller in the worst affected countries. HIV thus translates into serious economic and development problems because the most economically active generation – the 20 to 40 age group – is no longer available to the economy.
HIV is thus one of the greatest poverty risks for entire societies in our time. In many countries it hampers development progress or even reverses it. If we do not succeed in containing the epidemic, it could pose a threat to global stability and peace.
