U.N. reports Decrease In New HIV Infections.

Fewer people are being infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, then at the epidemics peak, but progress is still halting and fragile. 2.6 million people were infected in 2009, 20 percent fewer then in the late 1990's. Although about 25 countries are doing better at prevention, including a few in south africa, (high in aids rates) the progress is still spotty.

South Africa, home of the worlds worst AIDS epidemic, benefited from the change in president from Thabo Mbeki, hostile in distribution of AIDS drugs, to Jacob Zuma, who publicly took an AIDS test, urging citizens to do the same. Although south africa still faces 350,000 to 500,000 infections per year, there has been much improved progress to give mother drugs to prevent infection of babies trough breaks milk. Acording to Michael Saibe, executive director of UNaids, there has been a 50% reduction of young deaths in south africa. Some reasons for this are: parents and children are discussing sexuality more, and people are sleeping around less. When 57 countries were surveyed, only 25% said that they had had more then one partner in the last year.

Despite progress being made, some countries, mostly in Western Europe and Central Asia, are becoming worse, where the epidemic on concentrated in heroin- injectors and their sexual partners. The more the heroin spreads the more addictions there are and therefore, resulting in more HIV infections.

There is good and bad news on the treatment front. 5.2 million people are getting antiretroviral drugs, more then there has ever been before; however 10 million people still need immediate treatment. It has been 3o years since the start of the AIDS epidemic and about 33.4 million people are living with HIV. A comparison shows how much progress needs to be done before we can say the world is winning the war on aids: for every 100 people put on treatment, 250 become newly infected. Now it is about 200 become newly infected. It is a small improvement, but an improvement none the less.

Link to Original Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/world/africa/24infect.html?partner=rss&emc=rss