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HIV/AIDS Statistics

• Since 1981, more than 25 million people have died of AIDS
• Over 42 million people are currently living with HIV/AIDS, and 74 percent of these infected people live in sub-Saharan Africa.
• There are 14 million AIDS orphans living in Africa.
• The United Nations estimates that by 2010, the number of AIDS orphans in Africa will increase to 25 million.
• There are 14,000 new infections every day (95 percent in developing countries).  Half of the 5 million new infections each year occur among people ages 15 to 24.

What is HIV?
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections.

What is AIDS?
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Although treatments for AIDS and HIV exist to slow the virus's progression, there is no known cure.

Impact on Women, Youth, and Children
(Source: The Global Fund)
• In 2004, approximately 1.2 million women and 510,000 children under the age of 15 died of AIDS-related causes.
• Women are increasingly affected by HIV/AIDS. Globally almost 50 percent of adults living with HIV/AIDS are women.
• An estimated 10.3 million young people ages 15-24 are living with HIV/AIDS. Half of all new HIV infections - almost 6,000 infections per day - occur among young people.
• More than 13 million children under the age of 15 have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS, and this number is projected to double by 2010.

Regional Impact
• Sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa is the world's worst-affected region. Seventy percent of all people infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, even though it is home to only 11 percent of the world's overall population. In 2004, an estimated 3.1 million people in the region were newly infected with HIV.
• The Caribbean. After sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean is the next hardest-hit region as measured by HIV/AIDS prevalence. In Haiti, for example, the national adult HIV prevalence rate is estimated at around 5.5 percent.
• Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe continues to experience the fastest-growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the world, with 210,000 new infections in 2004 - bringing the total number of HIV-positive people in the region to approximately 1.4 million.
• Asia and the Pacific. In Asia and the Pacific, approximately 7 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. Three countries, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand, have HIV prevalence rates above 1 percent among 15 to 49 year olds.

Social, Economic, and Development Impact
• AIDS was declared a development crisis by the World Bank in 2000. It is estimated that per capita growth in half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa is falling by 0.5 percent-1.2 percent each year as a direct result of AIDS. By 2010, per capita GDP in some of the hardest-hit countries may drop by 8 percent and per capita consumption may fall even farther.
• Health care systems in many countries are overwhelmed by a growing number of HIV/AIDS patients. Studies forecast that health care costs in hardest hit countries may increase tenfold over the next several years as a result of the epidemic.
• HIV/AIDS overburdens social systems and hinders educational development. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the disease is claiming the lives of thousands of teachers and leading to school closures.
• The epidemic also inhibits agricultural production in many areas by reducing investments in irrigation, soil enhancement, and other capital improvements.

Prevention and Care
• There is abundant evidence that science-based HIV prevention is effective, especially when backed by high-level political leadership, a national AIDS program, adequate funding, and strong community involvement. Components of successful prevention efforts include clear and accurate communication about HIV/AIDS and methods to prevent infection, HIV counseling and testing, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
• The vast majority of people living with HIV/AIDS in the developing world do not have access to treatment, as a result of limited health care infrastructures and the high cost of many medications.
• It has been estimated that a total of US$7-10 billion a year is needed from all sources to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in low and middle-income countries.

Islamic Relief work on HIV/AIDS
Islamic Relief is organizing an international conference on HIV/AIDS to develop and subsequently apply approaches to HIV/AIDS which are both effective and Islamically sound. The conference, titled "Islam and HIV/AIDS: Compassion, Action", will be held for the first time in South Africa on April 16-20, 2007.

These approaches will be developed jointly by Islamic scholars, HIV/AIDS-related practitioners, and people living with HIV/AIDS. The approaches will be based on Islamic teachings and examples of good practice, and they will build upon existing Muslim and interfaith declarations related to HIV/AIDS.

To read more about the conference please click here.