Today is World AIDS Day. A day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. According to Wikipedia, AIDS has killed more than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007, and an estimated 33.2 million people worldwide live with HIV as of 2007, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history.

Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 2 million lives in 2007, of which about 270,000 were children.

UNAIDS published reports about the AIDS pandemic, below are the latest news.

The global AIDS epidemic

– In 2009, there were 2.6 million new infections, down from 3.1 million in 1999.
– In 2009 there were 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths, lower than the 2.1 million in 2004.
– In 2009, some 33.3 million people were living with HIV compared to 26.2 million in 1999.
– In 2009, around 370 000 children were born with HIV, bringing to 2.5 million the total number of children under 15 living with HIV.
– The total number of children aged 0–17 years who have lost their parents due to HIV increased to 16.6 million in 2009.
– Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 60 million people have been infected with HIV and nearly 30 million people have died of HIV-related causes.
– One in four AIDS deaths is caused by tuberculosis, a preventable and curable disease.

Human rights and gender

– More than 90% of governments reported that they address stigma and discrimination in their HIV programmes, however, less than 50% costed or budgeted such programmes.
– Less than half of countries reporting have a budget for HIV programmes for women.
– Same sex relations are still criminalised in 79 countries and six apply the death penalty. Resource availability and needs
– In 2009, US$ 15.9 billion was estimated to be available from all sources for HIV, US$ 10 billion short of the US$ 26.8 billion needed for HIV services in 2010.
– Donor government’s disbursements for the AIDS response in 2009 were US$ 7.6 billion, lower than the US$ 7.7 billion available in 2008.

Needless to say the AIDS pandemic is still spreading in many countries even if big efforts have been made to treat and support people affected by HIV. Many organizations around the world dedicate a lot of time and money to fight AIDS so don’t hesitate to make a donation.

The Sama Gazette supports Join(RED) for a long time, so we invite you to visit their website and to take action. This year all the Sama Team staff is wearing a Sama pin with a red ribbon created by Max Dana for this special day, and we will also make a donation. It’s important to us to be committed and we will be even more in 2011!