AIDS has grown to become a global killer: UN report

Geneva, Switzerland – An annual report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO)AIDS has stated that AIDS has grown to become a global killer, having affected over 40 million people worldwide and has challenged international efforts to contain the killer virus.

The AIDS Epidemic Update 2005, which this year focuses on HIV prevention, was released on Nov. 21 in advance of World AIDS Day, December 1.

A record 4.9 million people contracted HIV infection globally in 2005 and the annual infection rate of this year is highest since the first case was reported in 1981, the U.N. report stated.

According to the report, a record 40.3 million people are living with the virus.

“We are encouraged by the gains that have been made in some countries and by the fact that sustained HIV prevention programs have played a key part in bringing down infections,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Dr. Peter Piot in a statement on Monday. “But the reality is that the AIDS epidemic continues to outstrip global and national effort to contain it.”

The much–anticipated update on the AIDS epidemic reports on the latest developments in the global AIDS epidemic and contains maps and regional summaries, statistics, and a special section on HIV prevention.

The report, released on November 21, revealed encouraging statistics that Kenya, Zimbabwe and some countries in the Caribbean region all showed decline in HIV prevalence over the past few years.

The report indicated that evidence of decrease in adult HIV infection rates were largely due to changes in behavior to prevent infection – such as increased use of condoms, delay of first sexual experience and fewer sexual partners.

"Despite progress made in a small but growing number of countries, the AIDS epidemic continues to outstrip global efforts to contain it," the UNAIDS body said in its annual report.

According to the report, in Asia, national level HIV infections "are low" compared with some other continents, notably Africa. However, the populations of many "Asian nations are so large that even low national HIV prevalence means large numbers of people are living with HIV."

For instance, according to conservative estimates, in India alone, there are about 5.13 million people affected by HIV/AIDS. Globally, India is second only to South Africa in terms of the overall number of people living with the dreaded disease. However, non–government organizations (NGOs) and UNAIDS, the U.N.'s anti–AIDS agency, claim that the figure is too low as many cases go unreported.

According to the latest UN report, AIDS reported cases are highest in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka followed by the Northeastern states.

Though, in most of the states, the infection “appears to have stabilized,” the report noted, yet, “it is still increasing in at–risk population groups in several other states.” As a result, overall HIV prevalence in India has continued to rise.

The much–anticipated update on the AIDS epidemic also reports on the latest developments in the global AIDS epidemic and contains maps and regional summaries, statistics, and a special section on HIV prevention.