HIV/AIDS

The Challenge

In 2007, 2 million people died from HIV/AIDS and another 2.7 million people were infected with the virus. Sub-Saharan Africa has been hit harder by HIV/AIDS than any other region in the world. Two-thirds of people living with HIV/AIDS and over three-quarters of deaths from HIV/AIDS are in sub-Saharan Africa. People with AIDS don't suffer alone -- the disease also attacks their families and communities. 12.1 million African children have already lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. The disease targets people during their most productive years, making economic progress in many sub-Saharan African countries even more of a challenge.

The Opportunity

Many of the world's poorest countries have been able to make progress against HIV/AIDS in recent years thanks to increased political will and global resources to fight the disease. The launch of initiatives such as the Global Fund and PEPFAR have made treatment, prevention and care available to millions of people in the world's poorest countries. There are currently an estimated 3.2 million Africans receiving lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (up from only 50,000 in 2002), and PEPFAR alone has reached 10.1 million people with care since 2002.

Progress has been made in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, as well. The Global Fund has helped over half a million pregnant women with HIV receive medicine to prevent passing the virus on to their babies (up from only 150,000 women in 2004). However, HIV infection rates are still far outpacing the number of people put on treatment. Every day, 2,600 people are put on treatment across the world, but 7,400 more become infected with the virus. In the long-term, winning the fight against HIV/AIDS is not possible without sufficient investments in prevention, including research to find a vaccine.

Learn more, read the full HIV/AIDS Issue Brief...