World Aids Day Timeline: We’ve Come A Long Way
It’s World Aids Day and though Sub-Saharan Africa still has the most serious HIV/Aids epidemic in the world, we’ve come a long way in the past 10 years. Take a look at our HIV/Aids visual timeline.
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We have come a long way since the days of HIV/Aids denialism in South Africa but there is still a longer road to follow. Even though 3 million people are on ARVs, South Africa still has the biggest and most high profile HIV epidemic in the world, with an estimated 6.3 million people living with HIV in 2013.
We also have the highest new infections in the world. Over 400 000 new infections occurred in 2012 and HIV has increased from 10.6% in 2008 to 12.2% in 2012. Condom use has dropped since 2008 and there is a larger number of infection in teenage girls due to age disparate relationships.
There are small victories however, such as a successfully expanded antiretroviral treatment [ART] programme, which has doubled from 2008 through to 2012. Infections in babies has also decreased considerably due mainly to programmes to prevent the mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT).
For World Aids Day, we have created a visual timeline of HIV/Aids development throughout the past ten years.