World AIDS Day 2022: HIV Infections In Numbers Around The World

World AIDS Day: Within 20 years, more than 33 million individuals had contracted HIV.

AIDS, which is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has so far claimed the lives of 40.1 million people. At the end of 2021, there were 38.4 million HIV-positive individuals worldwide, with 25.6 million of them living in the African Region. If the World Health Organization’s figures are to be believed, HIV/AIDS is one of the biggest global public health problems.

Even while HIV continues to be a serious public health concern that affects millions of individuals globally, the global HIV response is at risk. Numerous lives are at stake as a result of the recent stagnation in HIV objective progress and resource depletion. HIV became and continues to be a global health epidemic due to a number of shortcomings, including division, inequality, and contempt for human rights.

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Now that the disease has grown into and remains a global health epidemic, let’s look at the HIV statistics.

HIV Testing: According to HIV.gov, approximately 85% of people worldwide with HIV knew their HIV status in 2021. The remaining 15% (about 5.9 million people) did not know they had HIV and still needed access to HIV testing services. HIV testing is an essential gateway to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services.

Access to HIV treatment: As of the end of 2021, 28.7 million people with HIV (75%) were accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) globally. That means 9.7 million people are still waiting. HIV treatment access is key to the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat. People with HIV who are aware of their status, take ART as prescribed, and get and keep an undetectable viral load can live long and healthy lives and will not transmit HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex.

HIV-related fatalities: AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 68% since the peak in 2004. In 2021, around 650,000 people worldwide died from AIDS-related illnesses, compared to 2 million in 2004 and 1.4 million in 2010.

Regional Impact: The vast majority of people with HIV are in low- and middle-income countries. In 2021, there were 20.6 million people with HIV (53%) in eastern and southern Africa, 5 million (13%) in western and central Africa, 6 million (15%) in Asia and the Pacific, and 2.3 million (5%) in Western and Central Europe and North America.