Washington, D.C., December 1, 2004 – The American Public Health Association (APHA) and the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) join together today to observe World AIDS Day as the global AIDS epidemic persists with climbing rates of women infected with HIV.
A record 39.4 million people, nearly half of them women, are infected with HIV, up from 38.1 million last year, according to the latest report from the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS.
Since the AIDS epidemic first emerged more than 20 years ago, more than 20 million people worldwide have died. In 2002, 3.1 million people died of AIDS-related causes, out of about 55 million deaths from all causes worldwide.
“The continued scourge of AIDS magnifies the significance of World AIDS Day,” said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, executive director of APHA. “We must remain vigilant and devote the necessary resources to fight this disease that has taken the lives of millions of men, women and children. More effective treatment and prevention, along with better access to therapies, are particularly needed across the globe to address this devastating epidemic.”
Approximately 95 percent of all AIDS cases occur in the world’s poorest countries. More than 60 percent of all people with HIV, about 25.4 million, live in sub-Saharan Africa. The region is home to just over 10 percent of the world’s population.
Global spending to fight AIDS has tripled since 2001 to $6.1 billion, half of which comes from nongovernmental donors . In the past two years, the highest increases in HIV infections occurred in East Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. According to experts, women across the globe are 2.5 times more susceptible to contracting AIDS than men due to a variety of factors, such as lack of education.
“As the numbers show, women, whatever their roles in society, face increased threats in today’s world from the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” said Allen Jones, PhD, secretary general of WFPHA, a federation of 70 national public health societies. “We must all do what we can to further empower women – and girls – to protect themselves from the risks of this terrible disease.”
About a million people infected with HIV live in the United States. This year, 44,000 Americans were newly infected with HIV. AIDS disproportionately affects African American and Hispanic women, with AIDS ranked among the top three causes of death for African American women aged 35 to 44 years. A reported 14,095 AIDS-related deaths occurred in the nation in 2002, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Last month, Congress passed the omnibus appropriations bill, which included $2.9 billion in global assistance to address HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The funding is $99 million above President Bush’s request and the highest level in history. Last year, APHA adopted strong policy supporting increased U.S. investments in bilateral and multilateral programs to address the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. In addition, the resolution urged the United States to support allowing countries to purchase medications at the best available world prices and cancel additional debt to impoverished countries.
WFPHA is an international, nongovernmental organization representing 70 national and regional public health societies and associations of public health schools. Founded in 1967, WFPHA is the only worldwide professional society representing and serving the broad field of public health. More information is available at WFPHA.