UN: Progress achieved in preventing HIV, much yet to do

UNITED NATIONS, July 29 (Xinhua) -- While there have been significant gains in preventing new HIV infections in a number of heavily affected countries and in reducing the number of AIDS-related deaths, the epidemic is far from over in any part of the world, says a United Nations report released Tuesday.

The 2008 report on the global AIDS epidemic, produced by the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), is the most comprehensive review of the epidemic with 147 countries reporting data.

It notes, among other things, that the combined efforts of governments, civil societies and affected communities can make a difference in saving lives.

For instance, changes in sexual behavior in countries such as Rwanda and Zimbabwe have led to a decline in the number of new HIV infections, and the use of condoms is increasing among young people with multiple partners in many countries.

Young people in seven of the most-affected countries, including Burkina Faso and Cameroon, are waiting longer to have sex.

In addition, the percentage of HIV-positive pregnant women receiving anti-retroviral drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission rose from 14 percent to 33 percent between 2005 and 2007.

The number of new infections among children fell from 410,000 to 370,000 in the same period.

"The overall finding of the report is that we've made enormous progress, that there are real results," UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot told journalists as he released the report in New York.

"We've achieved more in the fight against AIDS in the last two years than in the preceding 20 years."

At the same time, he stressed the need to sustain the gains made over the long term and scale up efforts at prevention and treatment.

The report notes that while the number of new HIV infections has declined from 3 million in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2007, infection rates are rising in many countries such as Indonesia, Kenya and Russia.

There are now an estimated 33 million people living with HIV worldwide, with 2 million estimated to have died of AIDS last year.

AIDS continues to be the leading cause of death in Africa.

There are still five new infections for every two people put under treatment, said Piot.

"So the gap between those who are in need of treatment and those who have access to treatment is widening. Ultimately, we'll have to intensify our interventions...our prevention efforts to stop this epidemic."

Despite the progress young people still remain vulnerable because many of them lack accurate and comprehensive information on how to protect themselves from infection.

The biennial UNAIDS report comes just days ahead of the XVII International AIDS Conference, set to begin in Mexico City on August 3.

The event will bring together world leaders, policy makers, academics and activists to review lessons learned and build momentum towards achieving universal access goals by 2010 and the Millennium Development Goals, which include the target of halting the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.