The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic

The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic

By Dr. Ali Fourkan

According to UNAIDS : 

• There were approximately 36.7 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2016. Of these, 2.1 million were children (<15 years old).
• An estimated 1.8 million individuals worldwide became newly infected with HIV in 2016 – about 5,000 new infections per day.  This includes 160,000 children (<15 years). Most of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa and were infected by their HIV-positive mothers during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.
• Currently only 60% of people with HIV know their status. The remaining 40% (over 14 million people) still need to access HIV testing services. 
• As of July 2017, 20.9 million people living with HIV were accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) globally, up from 15.8 million in June 2015, 7.5 million in 2010, and less than one million in 2000.
• 1 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2016, bringing the total number of people who have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic to 35.0 million.
  
  UNAIDS has set global targets to be achieved by 2020 in the global response to HIV that include:

Source: Global data from UNAIDS, AIDS by the Numbers, Nov. 2016.

• The vast majority of people living with HIV are in low- and middle-income countries. Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected region, with an estimated 25.6 million people living with HIV in 2015. About 66% of new HIV infections in 2015 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Despite advances in our scientific understanding of HIV and its prevention and treatment as well as years of significant effort by the global health community and leading government and civil society organizations, too many people living with HIV or at risk for HIV still do not have access to prevention, care, and treatment, and there is still no cure. However, effective treatment with antiretroviral drugs can control the virus so that people with HIV can enjoy healthy lives and reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to others.
• The HIV epidemic not only affects the health of individuals, it impacts households, communities, and the development and economic growth of nations. Many of the countries hardest hit by HIV also suffer from other infectious diseases, food insecurity, and other serious problems.
• Despite these challenges, there have been successes and promising signs. New global efforts have been mounted to address the epidemic, particularly in the last decade. Prevention has helped to reduce HIV prevalence rates in a small but growing number of countries and new HIV infections are believed to be on the decline. In addition, the number of people with HIV receiving treatment in resource-poor countries has dramatically increased in the past decade.
• Progress also has been made in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and keeping mothers alive. In 2015, 77% of pregnant women living with HIV globally had access to antiretroviral medicines to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies; new HIV infections among children have declined by 50% since 2010.

U.S. Response to the Global Epidemic

The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the U.S. Government’s initiative to help save the lives of those suffering from HIV/AIDS around the world.  This historic commitment is the largest by any nation to combat a single disease internationally, and PEPFAR investments also help alleviate suffering from other diseases across the global health spectrum. PEPFAR is driven by a shared responsibility among donor and partner nations and others to make smart investments to save lives.

In addition, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) represents the largest public investment in HIV/AIDS research in the world. NIH is engaged in research around the globe to understand, diagnose, treat, and prevent HIV infection and its many associated conditions, and to find a cure.