Communicable diseases Communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria kill millions of people each year. They exact a terrible toll on society and the economies of developing countries. Although international awareness and funding to fight epidemic diseases have increased, much remains to be done. Meanwhile, the burden of non-communicable diseases is also increasing. Every day, over 7,400 people are infected with HIV, and about 5,000 die from AIDS. The number of people living with HIV reached 34 million in 2010. Although the global prevalence rate of HIV appears to have leveled off in the late 1990s, the number of infected people continues to rise because better care and antiretroviral therapy, which suppresses the virus and stops the progression of HIV to AIDS, are keeping more people alive for longer. Access to antiretroviral therapy has expanded by HIV prevalence is concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa HIV prevalence rate, adults ages 15–49 (%) 6
a factor of 17 over the past seven years. In 2010, 6.7 million people in developing countries received antiretroviral therapy. Almost 70 percent of people living with HIV are in Sub-Saharan Africa, where women and children are especially vulnerable to the disease. Women constitute 58 percent of adults (ages 15 and older) living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa whereas they constitute 37 percent of adults living with HIV worldwide. More than 90 percent of all HIVpositive children live in the region. Infants are often at high risk of infection through mother-to-child transmission. Tuberculosis, still a major cause of illness and death worldwide, is becoming more dangerous with the spread of drugresistant strains of the bacteria. Drugresistance is caused by inconsistent or partial treatment, wrong treatment regimens, or unavailability of appropriate drugs. Twentynine out of 30 countries with the highest tuberculosis incidence rates are located in Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia and the Pacific. Together they account for 85 percent of all tuberculosis cases. Poor people are especially vulnerable to the disease because of underlying health problems and limited In low- and middle-income countries, nearly half of people eligible for antiretroviral therapy were covered in 2010 Antiretroviral therapy coverage (%), 2010 70
5
60
4
50
0
Ce Euro ntr pe al A & sia Eas So t, S uth ou eas th tA & sia Su b-S aha Afr ran ica Lat in Am Ca eric rib a & bea n Lo wand mi inc ddleom e
10
Mi d No dle E rth ast Afr & ica
2009
1990
2009
1990
2009
b-S aha Afr ran ica Hi gh -in com e
1990
Source: UNAIDS, Report on the global AIDS epidemic, 2010
62
Su
2009
2009
1990
1990
20
Ce Euro ntr pe al A & sia Lat in Am Ca eric rib a & bea n Mi dd No le E rth ast Afr & ica So uth Asi a
Eas
0
tA s Pac ia & ific
1
2009
30
1990
2
2009
40
1990
3
Source: WHO, Global HIV/AIDS response progress report, 2011