In a statement, the UNAIDS highlighted that the 2023 figures show a global improvement in the number of new infections, the treatment of HIV cases and a decrease in mortality.

The agency recalled that the pandemic had been declared in the second half of the 1980s after having claimed the lives of over 42 million people, and it affirmed that progress remains slow and weak.

In 2023, just under 40 million people had been living with the AIDS-causing virus, HIV, and about 1.3 million new infections had been recorded last year, 100,000 fewer than in 2022, which depleted significantly from a peak of 3.3 million in 1995.

However, there is no satisfaction because the target of no more than 330,000 infections in 2025 seems unattainable.

The UNAIDS figures detailed that the disease has claimed fewer lives: 630,000 deaths in 2023 compared to 670,000 the previous year, a figure that represents 69% less than in 2004, the most critical year of the pandemic.

The organization further considered that access to antiretroviral therapy poses the main challenge, as it is very effective today, the report warned.

By the end of December 2024, 30.7 million people would have access to antiretroviral therapy, compared to only 7.7 million in 2010, but the figure is still far from the 2025 target of 34 million people.

In addition, nearly a quarter of those infected with the virus do not have access to treatment. Eastern and Southern Africa remain the most affected regions, with 20.8 million people living with HIV, 450,000 infected last year and 260,000 deaths.

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