Scientific Facts on AIDS

2.3 How has the epidemic evolved in less affected regions?

For all the following world regions, the average share of the adult population living with HIV is lower than the world average of 1%.

In Eastern Europe and central Asia, the epidemics are still spreading, with some 220 000 people newly infected in 2005, bringing to about 1.5 million the number of people living with HIV – a twenty-fold increase in less than a decade. Most of these people are living in Ukraine and the Russian Federation, which has the biggest AIDS epidemic in Europe.

In Latin America, the biggest epidemics affect countries with the largest populations, such as Brazil which was home to one third of the 1.6 million people living with HIV in Latin America in 2005. However, the most intense epidemics are occurring in the smaller countries of Belize and Honduras. Access to treatment has improved greatly in parts of Latin America, but some countries are too poor to afford the drugs.

Overall, in North America, Western and Central Europe, some 65 000 people were newly infected with HIV in 2005, bringing to 2 million the number of people living with HIV. AIDS deaths in 2005 were comparatively few as a consequence of widespread access to antiretroviral therapy. In the United States of America and in some countries of Europe, the epidemic seems to be increasing again among men who have sex with men, which is also a largely hidden problem in Latin America and in Asia.

In Asia, some 8.3 million people were living with HIV in 2005. The share of infected people is decreasing in Cambodia, Thailand, and in parts of India, but is increasing in countries such as China, Indonesia, Viet Nam, and Papua New Guinea. There are also signs of HIV outbreaks in Bangladesh and Pakistan. In Asia, about one in six people in need of antiretroviral treatment are now receiving it.

Across Oceania, HIV infection levels remain low, although Australia’s long-established AIDS epidemic is not disappearing.

In the Middle East and North Africa, the proportion of adults infected with HIV is very low, except in Sudan. However, the epidemics seem to be growing in several countries – including in Algeria, Iran, Libya and Morocco. About one in 20 people in need of antiretroviral treatment are now receiving it in this region.