Tide turned in AIDS battle

Wednesday November 25th, 2009

World-wide campaigns against AIDS are reducing infection rates and death rates, experts reported yesterday.

More than 33 million people worldwide are thought to be infected with the HIV virus now - partly because improved treatment is saving lives, according to a joint report of the World Health Organisation and UNAIDS - the United Nations AIDS programme.

World-wide infection rates have fallen by 17 per cent in eight years - with a 15 per cent reduction in Africa, the report said.

The decline in East Asia has been even more dramatic - 25 per cent.

WHO warned that prevention programmes are not keeping pace with the way the virus is moving between people. In parts of Asia it was increasingly affecting heterosexual couples, it said, while in eastern Europe and central Asia it was spreading through the sexual partners of people who inject drugs.

Michel Sidibe, of UNAIDS, said: "The good news is that we have evidence that the declines we are seeing are due, at least in part, to HIV prevention.

"However, the findings also show that prevention programming is often off the mark and that if we do a better job of getting resources and programmes to where they will make most impact, quicker progress can be made and more lives saved."

WHO director-general Dr Margaret Chan said: "International and national investment in HIV treatment scale-up has yielded concrete and measurable results. We cannot let this momentum wane.

"Now is the time to redouble our efforts, and save many more lives."

Tags: Africa | Asia | Flu & Viruses | World Health

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