It is more than 30 years since the discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and it has now spread across the whole of the world. Today some 36.9 million people are estimated to be carrying the HI virus. Very many of those affected live in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where some 25.8 million people were infected in 2014. The disease is not only a disaster in human terms, but in social and economic terms too, and jeopardises sustainable development in the countries affected. Containing HIV and AIDS is one of the biggest challenges currently facing development policy. more - Background: HIV and AIDS
