Towards universal access: scaling up priority HIV/AIDS interventions in the health sector. Progress report 2009 Four million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries at the end of 2008. Four million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries at the end of 2008, an increase of more than one million compared to the end of 2007. And a tenfold expansion in five years. 42% of people with HIV/AIDS in low- and middle- income countries received antiretroviral therapy in 2008, compared to 33% in 2007. The number of health facilities porviding HIV testing and counselling in low- and middle-income countries increased by about 35% between 2007 and 2008. The total number of tests more than doubled. Population surveys indicate that the median percentage of people living with HIV who know their HIV status remains below 40%. 21% of pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries received an HIV test in 2008, up from 15% in 2007. 45% of HIV-positive pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries received ART to prevent mother-to-child transmission. 730 000 children were estimated to be in need of ART in low- and middle-income countries in 2008. Only 38% of them had access. The median percentage of surveyed men who have sex with men in low- and middle-income countries who reported the use of a condom the last time they had anal sex with a male partner was around 60%. Surveys conducted among sex workers in 56 countries found a median percentage of 86% reporting the use of a condom with their most recent client. Sub-Saharan Africa. An estimated 2.9 million people in sub-Saharan Africa received ART in 2008, compared to about 2.1 million in 2007—an increase of 39%. Sub-Saharan Africa. ART coverage in the region was 44% in 2008, compared to 33% in 2007. However, differences in coverage among sub regions continue to widen, with greater access (48%) seen in Eastern and Southern Africa than in Western and Central Africa (30%). Sub-Saharan Africa. Some 45% of HIV-positive pregnant women in the region received antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV transmission to their children, up from 35% in 2007. Sub-Saharan Africa. Between 2007 and 2008, the estimated number of children in sub-Saharan Africa receiving antiretroviral therapy rose from 158 000 to 225 000. Total ART coverage among children in the region is about 35%. Latin America and the Caribbean. About 445 000 people were receiving ART in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2008, up from 390 000 in 2007, a 14% regional increase. Latin America and the Caribbean. ART coverage in the region was 54% in 2008, compared to 50% in 2007. Latin America and the Caribbean. In Latin America, the percentage of HIV-positive pregnant women who received antiretroviral drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission rose from 42% to 54% between 2007 and 2008. The corresponding percentage in the Caribbean was 52%, up from 29% the previous year. Latin America and the Caribbean. Some 16 100 children in Latin America and the Caribbean were receiving ART in 2008, up from about 14 700 in 2007. By end-2008, 76% of treatment-eligible children in this region were receiving it. East, South and South-East Asia. Approximately 565 000 people received ART in low- and middle-income countries in the region—up from 420 000—a 35% increase over the previous year and an eightfold increase since 2003. East, South and South-East Asia. Antiretroviral therapy coverage in the region was 37% in 2008, compared to 29% in 2007. East, South and South-East Asia. Some 25% of HIV-positive pregnant women in the region had access to antiretroviral drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission in 2008, up from 24% in 2007. East, South and South-East Asia. In 2008, 30 000 HIV-positive children received treatment, up from 20 800 in 2007. This represents an ART coverage rate of about 52%. Europe and Central Asia. In 2008, 85 000 people were receiving ART in Europe and Central Asia, compared to 54 000 in 2007, an increase of 57%. Europe and Central Asia. ART coverage among low- and middle income countries in the region was 23% in 2008, up from 16% in 2007. Europe and Central Asia. An estimated 94% of HIV-positive pregnant women in this region received antiretroviral drugs to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, up from 74% in 2007. Europe and Central Asia. The number of children receiving ART rose from 3000 in 2007 to 4200, representing approximately 85% of those in need. North Africa and the Middle East. Approximately 10 000 people in North Africa and the Middle East had access to ART in 2008, compared to 7000 in 2007, an increase of 43%. North Africa and the Middle East. ART coverage in the region remains low: only 14% of those in need of antiretrovirals in 2008 were able to access them, up from 11% in 2007. North Africa and the Middle East. In 2008, 1% of pregnant women living with HIV received antiretroviral drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission. North Africa and the Middle East. Between 2007 and 2008, the estimated number of children in this region receiving ART rose from 180 to about 400. This represents a regional ART coverage rate of only 6%.