A United Nations report says that global epidemic of AIDS is on the decline but its pace is too slow.
A 140-page report from UNAIDS says that the deaths from AIDS dropped from 1.8 million in 2010 to 1.7 million last year and the new infections came down from 2.6 million to 2.5 million. But this development too, is slower than the prediction of experts. The reports has come at a time when funding is under pressure due to the global economic downturn. "These are positive numbers but the trend needs to be accelerated. It is moving in the right direction, but just not fast enough. If we map it out on a graph, we are still looking at a significant epidemic for the next 40 to 50 years," Paul De Lay, the deputy executive director of UNAIDS has been quoted saying in The Guardian.
"It is something of a depressing message, but it could be worse. It could be that the numbers are going up," he said.
The report also says that that AIDS has become a regionalized epidemic and in some countries the deaths from AIDS and new infections are still on the rise. New infections and deaths are on the rise in Eastern Europe and central Asia.
The report says that the most affected groups are drug users and sex workers and their clients, which do not get the treatment and help they need.
"These two epidemics are counter to the rest of the world," De Lay has been quoted as saying.
The research also points out a steep rise in the numbers of people with HIV who are undergoing treatment in low and middle-income countries. Around 8 million people are getting drugs that suppress the virus that keeps them healthy and make them less likely to infect others.
A target of brining 15 million people under treatment by 2015 has been set, although that will require an ambitious yearly increase of 1.7 million people, and last year's record increase was 1.4 million people.
--with inputs from ANI
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