Access to HIV meds in low- and middle-income countries grew last year, with more than 2 million people living with HIV/AIDS receiving treatment in December 2006, a 54 percent gain over the 1.3 million people on treatment a year earlier in these countries, according to a new report from the WHO, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and UNIC.

Countries in every region of the world are making substantial progress in increasing access to HIV treatment. More than 1.3 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were receiving treatment in December, representing coverage of approximately 28 percent of those in need compared to just 2 percent in 2003. Coverage in other regions varied, from 6 percent in North Africa and the Middle East, to 15 percent in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and 72 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean. But just 28 percent of the estimated 7.1 million people in need of treatment in all low- and middle-income countries were receiving meds in December

The number of children receiving treatment increased by 50 percent in the past year, but from a very low base. In December 2006, only about 115 500, or 15 percent of children of the 780,000 estimated to be in need of HIV treatment had access.

“The significant progress outlined in this report in scaling up access to treatment is a positive step forward for many countries in achieving their ambitious goals of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support,” says Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS. “However, new data in the report also shows that there is still a long way to go, particularly in the widespread provision of treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, which remains one of the simplest and cheapest proven prevention methods available.”

Complete report;
World Health Organization statement;
United Nations statement.[tags]AIDS, World Health Organization[/tags]