A significant expansion in access to treatment helped slash the number of AIDS-related deaths in 2010, bringing the number of people living with HIV to a record 34 million, the United Nations said on Monday. “We are on the verge of a significant breakthrough in the AIDS response,” said Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS. “New HIV infections continue to fall and more people than ever are starting treatment,” he noted.
Speaking to reporters in Berlin for the presentation of the report, Sidibe hailed what he called a “game-changing year”. “For the first time we are able to demonstrate that if you put people early on treatment you can reduce the number of new infections,” he said. About half of those eligible for treatment are now receiving it, with the most dramatic improvement in access seen in sub-Saharan Africa, which recorded a 20-percent jump in people undergoing treatment between 2009 and 2010.
