HIV/AIDS WORLDWIDE

• As of the end of 2001, an estimated 40 million people worldwide – 37.2 million adults and 2.7 million children younger than 15 years – were living with HIV/AIDS. More than 70 percent of these people (28.1 million) live in Sub-Saharan Africa; another 15 percent (6.1 million) live in South and Southeast Asia.
  
   
• Worldwide, approximately one in every 100 adults aged 15 to 49 is HIV-infected. In Sub-Saharan Africa, about 8.4 percent of all adults in this age group are HIV-infected. In 16 African countries, the prevalence of HIV infection among adults aged 15 to 49 exceeds 10 percent.
  
   
• Approximately 48 percent of adults living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are women.
  
   
• An estimated 5 million new HIV infections occurred worldwide during 2001; that is, about 14,000 infections each day. More than 95 percent of these new infections occurred in developing countries.
  
   
• In 2001, approximately 6,000 young people aged 15 to 24 became infected with HIV every day – that is, about five every minute.
  
   
• In 2001 alone, HIV/AIDS-associated illnesses caused the deaths of approximately 3 million people worldwide, including an estimated 580,000 children younger than 15 years.
   
• Worldwide, more than 80 percent of all adult HIV infections have resulted from heterosexual intercourse.
   

HIV/AIDS IN THE UNITED STATES

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 850,000 to 950,000 U.S. residents are living with HIV infection, one-quarter of whom are unaware of their infection.
  
   
• Approximately 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year in the United States, about 70 percent among men and 30 percent among women. Of these newly infected people, half are younger than 25 years of age.
   
• Of new infections among men in the United States, CDC estimates that approximately 60 percent of men were infected through homosexual sex, 25 percent through injection drug use, and 15 percent through heterosexual sex. Of newly infected men, approximately 50 percent are black, 30 percent are white, 20 percent are Hispanic, and a small percentage are members of other racial/ethnic groups.
  
   
• Of new infections among women in the United States, CDC estimates that approximately 75 percent of women were infected through heterosexual sex and 25 percent through injection drug use. Of newly infected women, approximately 64 percent are black, 18 percent are white, 18 percent are Hispanic, and a small percentage are members of other racial/ethnic groups.
  
   
• In the United States, 793,026 cases of AIDS had been reported to the CDC through June 30, 2001.
  
   
• The estimated number of new adult/adolescent AIDS cases diagnosed in the United States was 49,407 in 1997, 42,508 in 1998, 40,671 in 1999, and 40,106 in 2000.
  
   
• The estimated number of new pediatric AIDS cases (cases among individuals younger than age 13) in the United States fell from 949 in 1992 to 105 in 2000.
  
   
• The rate of adult/adolescent AIDS cases reported in the United States in 2000 (per 100,000 population) was 74.2 among blacks, 30.4 among Hispanics, 12.7 among American Indians/Alaska Natives, 7.9 among whites, and 4.3 among Asians/Pacific Islanders.
  
   
• From 1985 to 2000, the proportion of adult/adolescent AIDS cases in the United States reported in women increased from 7 percent to 25 percent.
  
   
• As of the end of 2000, an estimated 338,978 people in the United States were living with AIDS.
  
   
• As of June 30, 2001, 457,667 deaths among people with AIDS had been reported to the CDC. AIDS is now the fifth leading cause of death in the United States among people aged 25 to 44, and is the leading cause of death for black men in this age group. Among black women in this age group, HIV ranks third.
  
   
• The estimated annual number of AIDS-related deaths in the United States fell approximately 70 percent from 1995 to 1999, from 51,117 deaths in 1995 to 15,245 deaths in 2000.
  
   
• Of the estimated 15,245 AIDS-related deaths in the United States in 1999, approximately 50 percent were among blacks, 30 percent among whites, 18 percent among Hispanics, and less than 1 percent among Asians/Pacific Islanders and American Indians/Alaska Natives.

Global Overview

   20 years after the first clinical evidence of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome was reported, AIDS has become the most devastating disease humankind has ever faced. Since the epidemic began, more than 60 million people have been infected with the virus. Worldwide, AIDS is the fourth biggest killer.

         At the end of 2001, an estimated 40 million people globally were living with HIV. In many parts of the world, the majority of new infections occur in young adults, with young women especially vulnerable. About one third of currently living with HIV/AIDS are aged 15-24. Most of them do not know that they carry the virus. Many millions more know nothing or too little about HIV to protect themselves against it.

Eastern Europe & Central Asia

(Still the Fastest Growing Epidemic)

Eastern Europe, especially the Russian Federation, continues to experience the fastest growing epidemic in the world, with the number of new HIV infections rising steeply. In 2001 there were an estimated 250,000 new infections in this region, bringing to 1 million the number of people living with HIV. Given the high levels of other sexually transmitted infections, and the high rates of IV drug use among young people, the epidemic  looks to grow considerably.

Asia & the Pacific

( Narrowing windows of opportunity )

In Asia & the Pacific, an estimated 7.1 Million people are now living with HIV/AIDS. The epidemic claimed the lives of 435,000 in the region in 2001. The apparently low national prevalence rates in many countries in this region are dangerously deceptive. They hide the localized epidemics in different areas, including some of the worlds most populous countries. There is a serious threat of major, generalized epidemics. But, as Cambodia and Thailand have shown,  prompt, large-scale prevention programs can hold the epidemic at bay. In Cambodia, concerted efforts, driven by strong political leadership and public commitment, lowered HIV prevalence among pregnant woman to 2.3% at the end of 2000 (down almost a third from 1997).

Sub-Saharan Africa

( most severely affected)

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region most severely affected by HIV/AIDS. 3.4 Million new infections occurred in 2001, bringing 28.1 million the total number of people living with HIV/AIDS in this region.

The Middle East & North Africa

( Slow but marked spread )

In the Middle East and North Africa, the number of people living with HIV now totals 440,000. The epidemics most marked in countries (such as Djibouti, Somalia, and the Sudan ) that are already experiencing complex emergencies. While HIV prevalence is continues to be low in most countries in the region, increasing numbers of HIV infection are being detected in several countries, including the Islamic country of Iran, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Pakistan.  

High Income Countries

( Resurgent Epidemic Threatens )

A larger epidemic also threatens to develop in the high-income countries, where over 75,000 people acquired HIV in 2001, bringing to 1.5 million the total number of people living with HIV/AIDS. Recent advances in treatment and care in these countries are not being consistently matched with enough progress on the prevention front. New evidence of rising HIV infections in North America, parts of Europe and Australia is emerging. Unsafe sex, reflected in outbreaks of sexually transmitted infections, and widespread injecting drug use are propelling these epidemics, which, at the same time, are shifting more towards deprived communities.

Latin American and Caribbean

( Diverse Epidemics )

 An estimated 1.8 million adults and children are living with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean. With an average adult prevalence of approximately 2%, The Caribbean is the second most affected region in the world. But relatively low national HIV prevalence rates in most South and Central American countries mask the fact that the epidemic is already firmly lodged among specific population groups. These countries can avert more extensive epidemics by stepping up their responses now.