Photo gallery: Towards universal access
All images may be downloaded and used, provided credit is given to WHO and photographers as mentioned with individual photos.
1. The year 2009 saw continuing progress in expanding access to HIV testing, prevention, treatment and care in low-and middle-income countries.
2. About 356,400 children less than 15 years of age were receiving antiretroviral therapy at the end of 2009, up from 275,300 at the end of 2008, an increase of 29% in one year.
3. Greater efforts are needed to scale up early testing of HIV-exposed infants, reduce the rate of loss to follow up among them in the postnatal period, and further integrate interventions with services for maternal, newborn and child health.
4. There has been continuous progress in expanding access to HIV treatment and care in low-and middle-income countries.
5. Eight low-and middle-income countries (Botswana, Cambodia, Croatia, Cuba, Guyana, Oman, Romania and Rwanda) had already achieved universal access to antiretroviral treatment by December 2009 (treatment coverage of at least 80% of patients in need).
6. Over half of the 1.4 million pregnant women living with HIV are estimated to have received antiretroviral drugs to prevent transmission of HIV to their infants.
7. The combination of prevention, treatment and care interventions is already benefiting adults and children worldwide, as millions of lives have been saved and new infections averted.
8. The median percentage of injecting drug users reached with HIV prevention programmes in the 12 months preceding the surveys was 32% among 27 countries reporting data in 2009.
9. The global burden of sexually transmitted infections remains high in most regions of the world. Early identification and treatment of sexually transmitted infections is a critical element in controlling HIV infection, especially among people with multiple sexual partners.
The sooner high-quality services are scaled up, the larger will be the social and economic gains from fewer infections, lower mortality and having millions of people live longer and healthier lives.
