- About UNAIDS
- Our work
- Targets and commitments
- 2011 Political Declaration: Targets and elimination commitments
- Reducing sexual transmission
- Preventing HIV among drug users
- Eliminating new HIV infections among children
- 15 million accessing treatment
- Avoiding TB deaths
- Closing the resource gap
- Eliminating gender inequalities
- Eliminating stigma and discrimination
- Eliminating travel restrictions
- Strengthening HIV integration
- 2011 Political Declaration: Targets and elimination commitments
Regions
AIDS epidemics and the main modes of HIV transmission vary widely across the globe. UNAIDS supports evidence-informed HIV responses in low and middle income countries. Below find out more about the nature of the epidemics within these regions as well as how national partners are working with international bodies to achieve results.
East and Southern Africa
East and Southern Africa remains the area most heavily affected by the HIV epidemic. Out of the total number of people living with HIV worldwide in 2009, 34% resided in 10 countries of Southern Africa. More
West and Central Africa
The HIV prevalence in West and Central Africa remains comparatively low, with the adult HIV prevalence estimated at 2% or under in 12 countries in 2009 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Sierra Leone). More
Asia and Pacific
In 2009, an estimated 4.9 million people in Asia were living with HIV, including 360 000 who became newly infected that year. The overall trends in this region hide important variation in the epidemics, both between and within countries. The HIV epidemic in the Pacific region is small, but the number of people living with HIV in this region nearly doubled between 2001 and 2009—from 28 000 to 57 000. More
Caribbean
Although the Caribbean accounts for a relatively small share of the global epidemic, its HIV prevalence among adults is about 1.0% which is higher than in all other regions outside sub-Saharan Africa. More
Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Eastern Europe and Central Asia is the only region where HIV prevalence clearly remains on the rise. The number of people living with HIV has almost tripled since 2000 and reached an estimated total of 1.4 million in 2009. A rapid rise in HIV infections among people who inject drugs at the turn of the century caused the epidemic in this region to surge. More
Latin America
The HIV epidemics in Latin America have changed little in recent years. The total number of people living with HIV continues to grow to an estimated 1.4 million in 2009 from 1.1 million in 2001 due largely to the availability of antiretroviral therapy. An estimated 92 000 new HIV infections occurred in the region in 2009. More
Middle East and North Africa
Reliable data on the epidemics in the Middle East and North Africa remain in short supply, creating difficulty in tracking recent trends with confidence. Nonetheless, according to available evidence, the number of new HIV infections in the region increased from 36 000 in 2001 to 75 000 in 2009 bringing the number of people living with HIV in the region to an estimated 460 000 at the end of 2009. More
Other regions
This section includes information on North America, western and central Europe. The total number of people living with HIV in North America and Western and Central Europe grew from an estimated 1.8 million in 2001 to 2.3 million in 2009—an increase of 30%. More