HIV spreading faster than treatment

SAFRICA: New HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa are growing twice as quickly as anti-retroviral drugs are rolled out, despite a 39 percent hike in treatment access, UNAIDS said Wednesday.

The number of people receiving AIDS treatments in the region, where two-thirds of the world’s HIV positive people live — rose from 2.1 million in 2007 to 2.9 million last year.

Although the region showed the world’s greatest progress in expanding AIDS treatment, new infections still outpace the numbers of people on the life-saving drugs, according to new figures from the World Health Organisation, UNAIDS and the UN Children’s Fund. AFP