Number of deaths due to HIV/AIDS
Situation and trends
The annual number of people dying from AIDS-related causes worldwide is steadily decreasing from a peak of 2.3 million [2.1–2.6 million] in 2005 to an estimated 1.7 million [1.5–1.9 million] in 2011. AIDS-related mortality began to decline in 2005 in sub-Saharan Africa, South and South-East Asia and the Caribbean and has continued subsequently.
Two signal developments have caused this decline: first, the increased availability of antiretroviral therapy, as well as care and support to people living with HIV, especially in sub-Saharan Africa; and second, fewer people newly infected with HIV since the peak in 1997. The effects of antiretroviral therapy are especially evident in sub-Saharan Africa, where number of people dying from AIDS-related causes in sub-Saharan Africa declined by 32% from 2005 to 2011, although the region still accounted for 70% of all the people dying from AIDS in 2011.