The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7480 p613
1 December 2007

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Revised estimates put global HIV at 33.2 million

Estimates of the number of people living with HIV worldwide have been revised downwards. In a report published last week, the World Health Organization and the United Nations put the global figure at 33.2 million, down from a previous estimate of 39.5 million. It says that this substantial reduction is largely due to refinements in methodology, rather than trends in the pandemic.

“These improved data present us with a clearer picture of the AIDS epidemic, one that reveals both challenges and opportunities,” said Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS (the joint United Nations programme on HIV and AIDS).

“Unquestionably, we are beginning to see a return on investment: new HIV infections and mortality are declining, and the prevalence of HIV is levelling. But with more than 6,800 new infections and over 5,700 deaths each day due to AIDS we must expand our efforts.”

The number of new HIV infections globally is expected to reach 2.5 million in 2007, with two thirds occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. These 1.7 million new infections in sub-Saharan Africa represent a decline in new infections compared with 2.2 million new infections in 2001.

The report also highlights the situation in different parts of Europe. In Eastern Europe, new infections declined from 230,000 in 2001 to 150,000 in 2007. In Western Europe the numbers of new HIV infections in 2007 is more or less stable.

However, the report points out: “These regional incidence figures can mask the fact that the actual number of persons living with HIV may be increasing; for instance in Eastern Europe, the total number of persons with HIV increased nearly 150 per cent between 2001 and 2007.”

Commenting on the situation in Europe, Srdan Matic, of the WHO regional office for Europe, said: “Full benefit of available antiretroviral treatment for those living with HIV depends on lowering the barriers to early diagnosis.

“Multiple and simultaneous strategies are needed to make HIV testing more available and to reduce stigma and discrimination of those living with HIV or at risk of infection, both in the health sector and beyond.

“Health service professionals bear a responsibility to facilitate early diagnosis and entry into HIV treatment and care, to provide patient-centred and patient-friendly services, so that preventable HIV-related morbidity and mortality is reduced to a minimum.”