UN: Global Aids epidemic growing

Bangkok Post
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Geneva (dpa) - An estimated 40 million people are now living with HIV/Aids and the global epidemic continues to grow, according to new figures published by UNAids and the World Health Organization Tuesday.

According to the UNAIDS/WHO 2006 Aids Epidemic Update, 2.9 million people died from Aids-related illnesses in 2006 and there were 4.3 million new infections, more than half occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.

In eastern Europe and Central Asia there were indications that infection rates had risen by more than 50 per cent in the past two years.

There was also growing evidence that HIV outbreaks among men, who have sex with men, was growing in Asia and Latin America. There were also big jumps in this group in European countries since 2001; the Netherlands (75 per cent), Switzerland (71 per cent), Portugal (68 per cent), Germany (50 per cent), Belgium (40 per cent.

Prevention programmes had either lapsed or were not reaching the groups at risk, said the report.

In some countries such as Uganda, which had seen the epidemic diminish in the 1990s, now saw it remaining static or even growing.

Countries were not adapting to their epidemic.

"Knowing your epidemic and understanding the drivers of the epidemic such as inequality between men and women and homophobia is absolutely fundamental to the long term response to Aids," said Director Dr Peter Piot.