World Health Organization Revises Figures on HIV/AIDS
A look at the worldwide AIDS situation
by Liz Olson
The World Health Organization reported in November 2007 that
the number of people living with HIV/AIDS and the number of people newly
infected has leveled off.
The World Health Organization reported that
the number of new HIV infections peaked in the late 1990s at more than three
million. The 2007 "AIDS Epidemic Update," which is released by the United
Nations and the World Health Organization annually, stated that an estimated
2.7 million people were newly infected with the disease worldwide in the
past year. An estimated 68% (1.7 million) of the new HIV infections occurred
in sub-Saharan Africa.
A reported 33.2 million people worldwide are
living with HIV/AIDS in 2007—a considerable reduction from the reported 40
million cases in 2001. In addition, the estimated 2.7 million new infections
reported in 2007 are notably smaller than the 5 million counted in
2001.
Due in large part to antiretroviral therapy, the number of
deaths related to HIV/AIDS has declined since 2001. According to the WHO,
2.1 million people died of AIDS in 2007, compared to 3 million in
2001.
Advances in Reporting and Analysis Account for
Reductions
Improved epidemiological data and analysis are significant
factors in the six million drop of people living with HIV/AIDS from 2001 to
2007. The advances in methodology also allowed for revisions in past
estimates, and a clearer picture of the global AIDS epidemic. The WHO
revised its 2006 estimate of 39.5 people living with HIV/AIDS to 32.7
million cases in 2007. The principle reason for this reduction was the
reassessment of cases in India and five sub-Saharan countries.
High
Numbers in Asia
In Asia, an estimated 4.9 million people are living
with HIV. The prevalence of HIV is highest in the southeastern Asian
countries, but large numbers of people are affected in India as well. There
has been a decline in HIV prevalence in Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia, but
Vietnam and Indonesia show growing numbers.
India is expanding its HIV
surveillance systems and has increased its surveillance sites from 155 in
1998 to 1,120 in 2006.
HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Although overall numbers of new HIV/AIDS infections has decreased, the
number of people living with HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia has
increased since 2001. The estimated number of people living with HIV in
Eastern Europe and Central Asia increased from 630,000 in 2001 to 1.6
million in 2007—an increase of 150%. In 2006, 90% of the new diagnoses were
from the Russian Federation and the Ukraine. Two-thirds of HIV transmission
in Eastern Europe and Central Asia were attributed to intravenous drug
use.
Struggle in sub-Saharan Africa
Prevalence of HIV in
sub-Saharan Africa has leveled off, but it remains the most affected region
of the world, and AIDS continues to be the leading cause of death there. In
2007, 76% of 2.1 million AIDS deaths and two-thirds of new infections
occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.
The improvements in data collection
and surveillance systems will allow better assessments of treatment needs
and funding in the future.
HIV Carriers Not Notified in Chile
In November 2008, Chile's health minister announced that almost 2,000 people were not informed by public and private health care services that they were living with HIV. The Health Minister, Alvaro Erazo, attributed the problem to a break-down in communication between the National AIDS Commission and the Health Ministry.
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