Nov 23 (Reuters) - An estimated 33.3 million people worldwide have the HIV virus that causes AIDS, but the global health community is starting to slow down and even turn the epidemic around, according to a United Nations report.
Here are some of the main findings of the annual global update by the Joint U.N. Programme on HIV/AIDS, or UNAIDS.
HIV PREVENTION
* The global incidence of HIV infection fell by 19 percent between 1999 and 2009; the decline exceeded 25 percent in 33 countries, including 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
* In 2009, 370,000 children were infected with HIV through mother-to-child transmission. This is a drop of 24 percent from five years earlier. However, rapid expansion of delivery of steps to prevent mother-to-child transmission is being held back by inadequate access to antenatal and postnatal services.
* HIV prevention investments are about 22 percent of all spending in 106 low- and middle-income countries.
* Globally, knowledge about HIV among both young men and young women has increased slightly since 2008. But at only 34 percent, the number of young people with comprehensive knowledge is barely a third of the target of 95 percent.
* Trend analysis shows a general decline in the percentage of people who have had more than one sexual partner in the past year in sub-Saharan Africa.
* Condom availability in places of need is increasing significantly, with 25.8 million female condoms provided through international and non-governmental funding sources in 2009. Condom distribution increased by 10 million between 2008 and 2009.
HIV/AIDS TREATMENT
* An additional 1.2 million people received AIDS drugs in 2009, bringing the total number of people receiving treatment in low- and middle-income countries to 5.2 million, a 30 percent increase over 2008.
* At the end of 2009, 36 percent of the 15 million people in need in poorer countries were getting AIDS drugs.
* Fewer people are dying from AIDS-related causes. About 14.4 million life-years have been gained by providing AIDS drugs since 1996.
* About 50 percent of pregnant women testing HIV positive were assessed for their eligibility to receive AIDS drugs.
* Children and marginalized populations, such as people who inject drugs, are less likely to get the AIDS medicines they need than the population at large.
* While steady progress is being made in scaling up access to HIV services for people with tuberculosis (TB), the percentage of people with TB who received an HIV test in 2009 remained low, at 26 percent. Progress in scaling up TB services for people living with HIV is also very slow.
* Children orphaned by AIDS were nearly as likely to attend school as other children.
* The availability of end-of-life and home-based care services for people living with HIV remains uneven.
SOURCE: UNAIDS/REUTERS (Compiled by Kate Kelland, editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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