2004 Aids facts and figures

2004-07-07 11:40

Special Report

Cabinet approves HIV/Aids plan

Cabinet has approved the implementation plan to scale up the HIV/Aids prevention and treatment programme recently presented by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

US $12 billion will be needed by 2005 to effectively fight HIV/Aids in developing countries - but current annual global spending amounts to less than half (at under US$5 billion). By 2007, an estimated US$20 billion will be needed.

With 60% of the world's population, Asia is home to some of the fastest-growing epidemics in the world with 1.1 million new infections in 2003 alone - the most in a single year to date in Asia.

Although Africa is home to 10% of the world's population, it has 70% of people living with HIV worldwide. If current infection rates continue, without access to treatment, 60% of today's 15 year olds will not reach their 60th birthday.

Close to 38 million adults and children are living with HIV worldwide - an increase from 35 million in 2001. Over 20 million people have died of Aids over the past two decades.

Since the Barcelona Aids Conference in 2002, an additional 9.2 million people have become infected and 5.6 million people have died of Aids.

An estimated 15 million children under age 18 worldwide have lost one or both parents to Aids - 12 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

Women account for nearly half of all people living with HIV and 57% in sub-Saharan Africa.

Of the 10 million young people living with HIV worldwide, 6.2 million live in sub-Saharan Africa - 75% of whom are young women.

Prevention programmes reach fewer than one in five people who need them. Comprehensive prevention could avert 29 million of the 45 million new infections projected by 2010.

The current supply of condoms is 40% short of what is needed. By 2015, an estimated 19 billion condoms will be needed to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Five to six million people need HIV treatment in low and middle income countries, yet only 7% or 400 000 people had access by end 2003. -www.unaids.org

- News24

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