HIV/AIDS STATISTICS WORLD WIDE

More than ever people are living with HIV, largely due to greater access to treatment. At the end of 2010 an estimated 34 million people (31.6-35.2 million) were living with HIV world wide, up by 17% from 2011. This reflect the continued large number of new HIV infection and a significant expansion of access to antiretroviral therapy which has helped AIDS related deaths especially in more recent years

ESTIMATES OF NEW HIV INFECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

HIV IN THE UNITED STATES

More than 16,000 people with AIDS were estimated to have died in 2008, and nearly 594,500 people with AIDS in the US have died since the epidemic began. CDC estimates 1.2 million people in the United States (US) are living with HIV infection. One in five (20%) of those people are unaware of their infection. Despite increases in the total number of people in the US living with HIV infection in recent years, the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. However, new infections continue at far too high of a level, with approximately 50,000 Americans becoming infected with HIV each year.

AIDS AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS

To date, over 230,000 African Americans have died of AIDS - nearly 40 percent of total deaths - and of the more than 1 million people living with HIV in the United States of America today, almost half are black. And yet, as a racial group, African Americans represent just 13 percent of the US population. The estimated lifetime risk of becoming infected with HIV is 1 in 16 for black males, and 1 in 30 for black females, a far higher risk than for white males (1 in 104) and white females (1 in 588). In Washington D.C, which has the nations highest district HIV prevalence (3 percent), three-quarters of those infected with HIV are African American. According to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, African Americans comprise the greatest proportion of HIV/AIDS cases across many transmission categories, including among women, heterosexual men, injection drug users, and infants.

OBAMAS PROMISE OF HEALTH CARE

Despite the seriousness of the epidemic, particularly in certain geographic areas and among certain demographic groups, America lacked a comprehensive plan on AIDS until 2010. President Obama had promised to rectify this during his election campaign by committing to the creation of a National HIV/AIDS Strategy. The Strategy, which was launched in July 2010, is structured around three core aims: reducing new HIV infections, increasing access to care and improving health outcomes for people living with HIV, and reducing HIV-related disparities and health inequities.