| Resumen: |
In 2012, the global AIDS response is at a critical juncture. There is much to celebrate: According to UNAIDS, the global rate of new HIV infections declined 23% in the past decade. AIDS treatment costs have dropped 100-fold since 2000 from more than $10,000 under $100 per person annually, and more than 8 million people in developing countries are receiving lifesaving treatment. Antiretroviral drugs have allowed people with access to these drugs to live long, productive lives and for mothers living with HIV to have healthy, HIV-free babies. The vast global resources mobilized for AIDS have not only directly helped HIV and AIDS patients and their families in developing countries, but also
have helped expand access to primary health care, rebuild health facilities, train health workers, and strengthen laboratories, procurement and
supply chains, and health information systems.
Yet despite these remarkable successes,
AIDS remains a critical development challenge,
particularly in Africa.
Since 1981, more than 65 million people have been infected and 30 million
have died of AIDS-related causes. 2.7 million people were newly infected in 2010, including 390,000 children. Every minute, a young woman is infected with HIV. At least 7 million people living with HIV in developing countries are not receiving lifesaving medicines. In Swaziland, half of pregnant women are HIV-positive. Zambia loses half of the teachers it trains annually to AIDS. |
