Facts Sheet On World AIDS Day 2015: The Time to Act Is Now

What is World AIDS Day?

World AIDS Day is held on the 1st December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, held for the first time in 1988.

GLOBAL STATISTICS

15.8 million people accessing antiretroviral therapy (June 2015)
36.9 million [34.3 million–41.4 million] people globally were living with HIV (end 2014)
2 million [1.9 million–2.2 million] people became newly infected with HIV (end 2014)
1.2 million [980 000–1.6 million] people died from AIDS-related illnesses (end 2014)

Here are some facts about AIDS in 2015 with data from the World Health Organisation, the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF, and UNAIDS:

1. Globally about 36.9 million people are living with HIV including 2.6 million children

2. An estimated 2 million were infected in 2014

3. An estimated 34 million people have died from HIV or AIDS, including 1.2 million in 2014

4. The number of adolescent deaths from AIDS has tripled over the last 15 years

5. AIDS is the number one cause of death among adolescents in Africa and the second among adolescents globally.

6. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the highest prevalence, girls account for 7 in 10 new infections among those aged 15-19

7. At start of 2015, 15 million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy compared to 1 million in 2001

8. Despite widespread availability of HIV testing, only an estimated 51 percent of people with HIV know their status

9. The global response to HIV has averted 30 million new HIV infections and nearly 8 million deaths since 2000

10. In 2015, Cuba was the first country declared to have eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV.