Introduction to the AIDS epidemic

The history of AIDS is a short one. As recently as the 1970s, no one was aware of this deadly illness. Since then the global AIDS epidemic has become one of the greatest threats to human health and development. At the same time, much has been learnt about the science of AIDS, as well as how to prevent and treat the disease.

The global picture

Statistics for the end of 2007 indicate that around 33.2 million people are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Each year around 2.5 million more people become infected with HIV and 2.1 million die of AIDS.¹

Although HIV and AIDS are found in all parts of the world, some areas are more afflicted than others. The worst affected region is sub-Saharan Africa, where in a few countries more than one in five adults is infected with HIV. The epidemic is spreading most rapidly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where the number of people living with HIV increased 150% between 2001 and 2007.²

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People living with HIV around the world: a South African child; a Guatemalan mother; American activist and writer Larry Kramer