HIV and AIDS Cases Decreased in India by Half

UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV AIDS) released the report on 23rd November 2010 by the name the UNAIDS Report on the Global Aids Epidemic 2010. UNAIDS report stated that number of HIV/ AIDS cases in India declined by a 50 percent in 2009 in comparison to 2001. In 2009, while the number of HIV/ AIDS cases in India was 1.2 lakh, it was 2.4 lakh in 2001.

The UNAIDS report further added that there were 23.9 lakh HIV /AIDS victims in India in 2009 which dropped from the number of 25 lakh to 31 lakh in 2007. The UNAIDS report estimated that the current level of HIV infection in India is approximately 0.31 percent of the Indian population which is down from 0.36 percent in 2006-07.
According to the UNAIDS report, 40 percent of people infected with HIV in India are women.  Report observed that HIV prevalence rate is decreasing among women sex workers and increasing among men having sex with men. According to the report, Manipur and Andhra Pradesh are worst hit Indian states by HIV.

UNAIDS report said that 90 percent of the HIV infections happened because of unprotected sex. However, in the north eastern part of India the main reason behind the HIV infections is infected needles shared by two or more drug users.

The UNAIDS report put the number of HIV AIDS cases worldwide at 26 lakh in 2009 in comparison to 31 lakh in 2001. According to the report total number of people living with HIV virus is 333 lakhs in comparison to 262 lakhs in 1999.The UNAIDS report observed that the annual number of HIV infections is decreasing globally since the late 1990s.