World makes gains in battle against AIDS - By André Picard

<blockquote>"Ms. Mane said combatting the epidemic requires not only health interventions, but the promotion of human rights and equality for women.


She noted, for example, that one-third of the world's countries still do not have laws that protect people living with HIV-AIDS from discrimination and that, in far too many countries, girls still have limited access to education.

As part of its Millennium Development Goals, the UN vowed to reverse the epidemic by 2015 - an actual decline in the number of people with HIV-AIDS - a target that now seems achievable."</blockquote>


World makes gains in battle against AIDS

UN cites fall in infections and deaths, rise in drug treatment and signs sex education is having an impact

By ANDRÉ PICARD
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
July 30, 2008
Source

Massive investments in HIV-AIDS prevention and treatment programs seem to finally be producing results, with notable declines in the number of people infected with the AIDS virus and dying from the disease, according to a new report.

In addition, the number of people worldwide living with HIV-AIDS has stabilized and treatment has risen sharply, according to the 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic produced by UNAIDS.

In some countries, young people seem to be delaying the age of first sexual intercourse, and the number of people with multiple sexual partners is declining, signs that sex education programs in school are having an impact, the report notes.

"In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in prevention efforts," Paul De Lay, director of evidence, monitoring and policy at UNAIDS, said in a teleconference. "These efforts are now producing results."

He cautioned, however, that the "epidemic is not over in any part of the world." And while the number of cases of HIV-AIDS is stabilizing, it is doing so at a very high level and there remain particular parts of the world and marginalized communities where the virus continues to run rampant.

For example, two in every three new cases of HIV-AIDS still occur in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the UNAIDS report:

33 million people are living with HIV-AIDS worldwide (at one point that number was estimated to be 40 million but methods of calculating were refined);

2.7 million were newly infected with HIV last year. That is down from three million in 2001;

Two million people died of AIDS in 2007, down from 2.2 million at the peak in 2005;

The number of children infected with HIV-AIDS fell to 370,000 in 2007 from 410,000 in 2005;

33 per cent of HIV-positive women who are pregnant now receive drugs to prevent transmission of the virus to their babies, up from 14 per cent two years ago.

More than three million people in developing countries are now taking antiretroviral drugs to combat the illness, an increase of one million in the past year alone.

While efforts to treat the poorest HIV-AIDS sufferers are picking up steam, they also underscore the breadth of the challenge.

"There are still five new infections for every two people who are newly added on treatment," Dr. De Lay said.

Purmina Mane, deputy executive director of the United Nations Population Fund, noted that providing antiretroviral drugs to three million people costs about $2.7-billion (U.S.) annually - "a pretty stiff price" - but, still, only about one-third of sufferers are getting adequate treatment.

Getting drugs to all those who would benefit, Ms. Mane said, would cost about $11-billion a year.

"If we want to continue to see results, we will need a financial and political commitment," she said.

Ms. Mane said combatting the epidemic requires not only health interventions, but the promotion of human rights and equality for women.

She noted, for example, that one-third of the world's countries still do not have laws that protect people living with HIV-AIDS from discrimination and that, in far too many countries, girls still have limited access to education.

As part of its Millennium Development Goals, the UN vowed to reverse the epidemic by 2015 - an actual decline in the number of people with HIV-AIDS - a target that now seems achievable.

The international organization has also set 2010 as a target date for universal access to treatment, prevention, care and support for all those living with HIV-AIDS, a milestone that is unlikely to be met.

The UNAIDS report notes that while there was a six-fold increase in financing HIV prevention and treatment programs in the developing world between 2001 and 2007, progress remains uneven.

More than $10-billion was spent on HIV-AIDS programs last year.

The new report includes data from 147 of the 192 member states of the United Nations.

In Canada, an estimated 49,000 people are living with HIV-AIDS, including 21,000 who are taking antiretrovirals (virtually everyone who can benefit). Fewer than 500 people annually die of AIDS in Canada.

This year, the federal government will spend $84-million on HIV-AIDS prevention and support programs.

*****

Epidemic in decline

New data released yesterday show fewer people are dying of AIDS, more patients are on HIV medication and the global AIDS epidemic is stable after peaking in the late 1990s.

People* receiving antiretroviral drugs, 2002-2007

3.0 North Africa and the Middle East

2.5 Eastern Europe and Central Asia

2.0 East, South and South-East Asia

1.5 Latin America and the Caribbean

Sub-Saharan Africa

NOTE: EVEN THOUGH HIV PREVALENCE STABILIZED IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE INFECTED CONTINUES TO GROW BECAUSE OF ONGOING NEW INFECTIONS AND LONGER SURVIVAL RATES DUE TO INCREASING ACCESS TO ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY

<P><B>REGIONAL HIV AND AIDS STATISTICS AND FEATURES, 2007</B></P>
<TABLE><TR><TD></TD><TD>Adults and children living with HIV</TD><TD>Adults and children newly infected with HIV</TD><TD>Adult prevalence (%)</TD><TD>Adult &#38; Child deaths due to AIDS</TD></TR><TR><TD>Sub-Saharan Africa</TD><TD>22,000,000</TD><TD>1,900,000</TD><TD>5.0</TD><TD>1,500,000</TD></TR><TR><TD>Middle East &#38; North Africa</TD><TD>380,000</TD><TD>40,000</TD><TD>0.3</TD><TD>27,000</TD></TR><TR><TD>South and South-East Asia</TD><TD>4,200,000</TD><TD>330,000</TD><TD>0.3</TD><TD>340,000</TD></TR><TR><TD>East Asia</TD><TD>740,000</TD><TD>52,000</TD><TD>0.1</TD><TD>40,000</TD></TR><TR><TD>Latin America</TD><TD>1,700,000</TD><TD>140,000</TD><TD>0.5</TD><TD>63,000</TD></TR><TR><TD>Caribbean</TD><TD>230,000</TD><TD>20,000</TD><TD>1.1</TD><TD>14,000</TD></TR><TR><TD>Eastern Europe &#38; Central Asia</TD><TD>1,500,000</TD><TD>110,000</TD><TD>0.8</TD><TD>58,000</TD></TR><TR><TD>Western &#38; Central Europe</TD><TD>730,000</TD><TD>27,000</TD><TD>0.3</TD><TD>8,000</TD></TR><TR><TD>North America</TD><TD>1,200,000</TD><TD>54,000</TD><TD>0.6</TD><TD>23,000</TD></TR><TR><TD>Oceania</TD><TD>74,000</TD><TD>13,000</TD><TD>0.4</TD><TD>1,000</TD></TR><TR><TD>Total</TD><TD>33,000,000</TD><TD>2,700,000</TD><TD>0.8</TD><TD>2,000,000</TD></TR></TABLE><P>NINIAN CARTER/THE GLOBE AND MAIL</P>

<P>SOURCES: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION; JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS</P>