New HIV infections and AIDS deaths have peaked,

New HIV infections and AIDS deaths have peaked, but 33 million people are still living with HIV

6 November 2010 | UN MDG report 2010

Worldwide, the number of people newly infected with HIV peaked in 1996 and has since declined, to 2.6 million in 2009. These positive trends are mostly due to a fall in the annual number of new infections in some countries in Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, infection rates continue to rise in other parts of the world, especially Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In those regions, HIV prevalence has almost doubled since 2001 — when the United Nations Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS was signed — and the number of people living with HIV has increased from 760 000 to 1.4 million.

The estimated number of AIDS deaths also appears to have peaked in 2004, at 2.1 million, and has since declined to 1.8 million in 2009. This is partly due to increased access to antiretroviral drugs in poorer countries. Despite an overall decrease in the number of new infections, the number of people living with HIV worldwide continues to grow, largely because people infected with the virus are surviving longer. In 2009, an estimated 33.3 million people were living with HIV.