Aids Emidemic Update 2004

Increased numbers of womenliving with HIV around the world

Published by: UNAIDS & WHO

This joint UNAIDS/WHO report outlines the most recent trends in the global AIDS epidemic. Women are increasingly affected by HIV and make up nearly half of the 37.2 million living with HIV world wide. In sub-Saharan Africa, almost 60 percent of adults living with HIV are women. The report identifies Southern Africa as the worst-hit region with HIV prevalence rates surpassing 25 percent. The Caribbean continues as the second worst-affected region in the world.

Although global AIDS spending has tripled since 2001 and access to services has improved significantly, the epidemic is still spreading. Key challenges include improving access to HIV/AIDS information for women and girls, as well as addressing the interplay between gender inequality and HIV. The report also highlights the mismatch between AIDS spending priorities and the main epidemiological features of the epidemic: population groups such as injecting drug users and men who have sex with men are often neglected in AIDS activities, even in places where they are heavily affected by the epidemic. The authors highlight social discrimination and political indifference, as well as inadequate HIV surveillance systems, as key problems to address.