UN: Aids-related deaths have increased by 5% in eastern Europe, central Asia

An estimated 37.9 million people worldwide now live with HIV, but a record number — 23.3 million of them — have access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), which can control the infection, UNAIDS said in a report.

In 2018, in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Central Asia, Eastern, and North Africa, key populations accounted for about 95% of new HIV infections.

Worldwide, in 2018, about 1.7 million people were diagnosed with HIV, which is 16% less than in 2010. Since 2010, in South Africa, the number of new HIV infections has decreased by more than 40%, and the death rate due to AIDS has decreased by about 40%.

Meanwhile, there has been an alarming increase in new HIV cases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (29%), in the Middle East and North Africa (10%), and Latin America (7%). In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 72% of people living with HIV knew about their HIV status in 2018, but only 53% of them had access to treatment.

Since 2010, the death rate from AIDS has decreased by 33%, to 770,000 in 2018. Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, mortality from AIDS has increased by 5%, and in the Middle East and North Africa since 2010 - by 9%.

About 82% of pregnant women living with HIV currently have access to antiretroviral drugs, which is more than 90% more than in 2010. This resulted in a 41% reduction in new HIV infections among children.