World AIDS Day - December 01

5 Facts About the Deadly Disease

17 seconds

Roughly 1.8 million people worldwide contracted the virus that causes AIDS in 2016. That figure breaks down to about one HIV infection every 17 seconds, or almost 5,000 per day.


Two-thirds of new cases in Africa

Since 2010 the rate of infection among adults has decreased slowly from 1.9 million to 1.7 million per year in 2016. Two-thirds of new cases occur in Africa.

Children's cases cut almost by half

New infections among children have fallen sharply: since 2010 they have been cut almost by half from 300,000 to 160,000 in 2016.

A key factor has been detection among pregnant women in Africa, followed by treatment with anti-retroviral drugs that protect their baby.

Nearing 40 million with HIV

Close to 40 million people live with the virus today. UNAIDS put their number last year at 36.7 million.

The number continues to increase, however, owing to continued transmission of the disease and increased access to anti-retroviral drugs in developing countries which has raised the survival rate of HIV-positive people.

Deaths halved

AIDS-related deaths have declined by almost 50 percent since a peak of 1.9 million in 2005, to 1.0 million in 2016.

Some 20.9 million people now have access to treatment which is effective when followed regularly.

Some 76.1 million have been infected since the AIDS epidemic erupted in 1981 according to UNAIDS, with 35 million dying over that period.

The first of December is observed as World AIDS Day to create awareness about the disease HIV/AIDS.

 It is one of the eight global public health campaigns undertaken by the World Health Organization (WHO).


The theme for this year's event is the "Right to Health" which includes a host of programmes to raise awareness about the symptoms and diagnosis of the disease which still continues be a sweeping pandemic in many parts of the world.

This iteration of the World AIDS day intends to inform people of the role of governments and institutions in curtailing the spread of the disease, and the financial burden of treating it.

What is HIV and how is it different from AIDS?

HIV is the acronym for human immunodeficiency virus, and responsible for the slow degeneration of the immune system.

It makes the victim more prone to infections, which ultimately can be fatal.

AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

 It is the terminal stage of the HIV infection

How many people are living with HIV?

A UNAIDS report published in June 2017 states that 21 million people who are infected with HIV have been diagnosed and are undergoing treatment. Data compiled by the World Bank reveals that nations in the African cape have the highest prevalence of HIV as a percentage of the population. South Africa and Botswana have 18.9% and 21.9% of their respective populations infected with HIV. The corresponding value for India is 0.3%.

What are the main causes for the transmission of HIV?

Sexual contact through vaginal and anal penetration is the primary source of transmission of the viral infection. The use of contaminated syringes and other equipment for injections also leads to transmission of the virus into the blood stream.