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AIDS Infection Rate Steady, But Deaths Decline

Better access to drugs, safe-sex efforts helping, UN report finds

By Drew Nelles,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 29, 2008 3:21 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Although global AIDS infection rates have remained constant, deaths from the disease dropped by 10% last year as more patients got access to drugs, the United Nations finds. The UN attributes the drop in deaths—from 2.7 million to 2 million—to better help for HIV-positive mothers, increased condom use, and fewer teens having sex before age 15, Bloomberg reports.

“This is the most positive report we've ever issued in terms of treatment access and reaching out to high-risk populations,'' a UN official says. Still, with hopes for an HIV vaccine fading after the failure of Merck’s efforts last year, the 25,000 AIDS experts meeting next week in Mexico City will have their work cut out for them. 

UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Michel Sidibe presents the book of the new report on the global AIDS epidemic, Tuesday, July 29, 2008.
UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Michel Sidibe presents the book of the new report on the global AIDS epidemic, Tuesday, July 29, 2008.   (AP Photo/Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi)
Polo Gomez, 43, wears a crown of needles holding what he said is his own AIDS-infected blood during a protest against the increasing prices of AIDS medicine in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 18, 2008.
Polo Gomez, 43, wears a crown of needles holding what he said is his own AIDS-infected blood during a protest against the increasing prices of AIDS medicine in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 18, 2008.   (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Actress Teri Hatcher meets with children in Kenya supported by AmericaShare, a non-profit foundation to support the orphaned and vulnerable children and adults affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Actress Teri Hatcher meets with children in Kenya supported by AmericaShare, a non-profit foundation to support the orphaned and vulnerable children and adults affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.   (AP Photo/Micato Safaris)
Learners attend a community meeting in Lerome, South Africa, convened and facilitated by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to get people talking openly about the AIDS epidemic.
Learners attend a community meeting in Lerome, South Africa, convened and facilitated by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to get people talking openly about the AIDS epidemic.   (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)
The House Is Small But the Welcome Is Big puts cameras in the hands of the women and children hit by the pandemic. This scene is from Maputo, Mozambique.
"The House Is Small But the Welcome Is Big" puts cameras in the hands of the women and children hit by the pandemic. This scene is from Maputo, Mozambique.   (AP Photo/Venice Arts Gallery, Cecilia Isaac)
The House Is Small But the Welcome Is Big puts cameras in the hands of the women and children hit by the pandemic. This scene is from Maputo, Mozambique.
"The House Is Small But the Welcome Is Big" puts cameras in the hands of the women and children hit by the pandemic. This scene is from Maputo, Mozambique.   (AP Photo/Venice Arts Gallery, Antonio Augustine Damiao)
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Merck's setback
Associated Press

Read the report
UNAIDS

 
United Nations • HIV/AIDS

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