AIDS deaths decline in 2007
New child cases also fall, U.N. says
The number of AIDS deaths worldwide dropped 10 percent in 2007, as did the number of new infections in children, because of increasing access to treatment, the United Nations reported Tuesday.
Condom use and prevention efforts increased in many countries and adolescent sex declined in some of the most heavily affected regions, according to the report.
“In a surprisingly short period of time, there has been a tripling of prevention efforts in some countries,” said Paul De Lay, director of evaluation for UNAIDS.
Despite these gains, however, the overall number of new infections during the year remained constant at about 2.7 million, fueled by increases in such countries as China, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Russia and Vietnam.
“Although we have seen real progress in the last two years, if we want to continue to see results, we will need to see more financial resources and commitment,” said Purnima Mane, deputy executive director of the U.N. Population Fund.
The new report found about 33 million people are now living with HIV. About 2.7 million people were newly infected with the virus in 2007, down from 3 million in 2001, and 2 million died of AIDS, down from 2.2 million the previous year.
To date, an estimated 25 million people cumulatively have died during the pandemic.
About $3 billion per year is being spent on treatment for 3 million people in developing countries, compared to fewer than half a million people in 2003. In Namibia, for example, 88 percent of those needing treatment in 2007 were receiving it, compared to 1 percent in 2003. Cambodia scaled up treatment from 14 percent to 67 percent.
The report came a day before President Bush was scheduled to sign a newly approved bill that would devote $48 billion to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis over the next five years, up sharply from the $15 billion spent in the last five.