HIV epidemic “halted,” declares United Nations

Here’s a bit of great news from the BBC: according to the United Nations, the global figures for new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths are finally falling.

Last year’s total of 2.6 million new HIV infections, while arguably staggering, is down nearly twenty percent from the peak of the AIDS epidemic in 1999. Meanwhile, the 2009 total of 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths is down from 2004′s figure of 2.1 million.

Naturally, there’s a long way yet to go; there are still an estimated 33 million people living with HIV, and with the stigma and discrimination it draws. And although infection rates are falling in Sub-Saharan Africa, where about seventy percent of new infections occur, the local rates are on the rise in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Nonetheless, due to the growing use of anti-retroviral drugs and various other investments in AIDS response, the global rates are dropping. And that’s a major step forward.

Many thanks to Kate, who sent me the link to the article in question this morning. “It’s like the news media is allergic to good news unless it’s about celebrities,” she said. “Why isn’t this the top story today?”

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