UN says nearly 40 million people had HIV in 2023, lack of treatment means someone died every minute
UNITED NATIONS — Last year, nearly 40 million people were living with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. More than 9 million were not receiving any treatment. As a result, someone died every minute from AIDS-related causes, the UN said in a new report released Monday.
While progress is being made in ending the global AIDS pandemic, the report finds that progress is slowing, funding is declining and new infections are increasing in three regions: the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America.
About 630,000 people will die from AIDS-related illnesses in 2023, a significant drop from the 2.1 million deaths in 2004. But the latest figure is more than double the 2025 target of fewer than 250,000 deaths, according to the report by UNAIDS, the UN agency leading the global effort to end the pandemic.
Gender inequality increases risks for girls and women, the report says, noting the extraordinarily high incidence of HIV among adolescents and young women in parts of Africa.
The rate of new infections globally among marginalized communities who face stigma and discrimination – sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs – has also increased from 45% in 2010 to 55% in 2023, the report said.
Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director, said: “World leaders have pledged to end the AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030, and they can deliver on their promise, but only if they ensure that the HIV response is properly resourced and that the human rights of all are protected.”
As part of that pledge, leaders promised to reduce the number of new HIV infections per year to fewer than 370,000 by 2025. However, the report shows that the number of new infections in 2023 was more than three times higher, at 1.3 million.
Last year, of the 39.9 million people worldwide living with HIV, 86% knew they were infected, 77% were on treatment and 72% had suppressed virus infections, the report said.
César Núñez, director of the UNAIDS office in New York, told a news conference that there have been advances in HIV treatment: injections that can remain in the body for six months, but the two doses cost $40,000 annually, out of reach for all but the wealthiest people with the virus.
He said UNAIDS has asked the manufacturer to make the drug available at a lower cost to low- and middle-income countries.
Núñez said there were also seven cases of people with HIV who were being treated for leukemia but no longer had any trace of the HIV virus.
He said the injections and the seven cases would be discussed at the 25th International AIDS Conference, which began Monday in Munich.
Currently, he said, daily treatment with pills costs about $75 per person per year. It has allowed many countries to increase the number of people with HIV receiving treatment.
Núñez said UNAIDS will continue to work for a vaccine to prevent AIDS.