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World AIDS Day 2008

World AIDS Day 2008
December 1, 2008
The number of people living with HIV is continuing to rise in every part of the world. There are now 33.2 million people living with HIV worldwide. 1 December 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. Since 1988, efforts made to respond to the epidemic have produced positive results, however, the latest reports on the global AIDS epidemic indicate that the epidemic is not yet over in any part of the world.

The United States is helping to turn the tide against global HIV/AIDS. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in human history. PEPFAR supported life-saving antiretroviral treatment for more than 2.1 million men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS around the world. When President George W. Bush announced PEPFAR in 2003, it was estimated that only 50,000 people were receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Today, PEPFAR supports treatment for more than 2 million people in sub-Saharan Africa -- forty times the number receiving treatment only five years ago.

As of September 30, 2008, nearly 9.7 million people affected by HIV/AIDS in PEPFAR's 15 focus countries had received compassionate care, including nearly 4 million orphans and vulnerable children. It is safe to say that as of December 1, 2008, the U.S. also has met the goal of supporting care for 10 million people affected by HIV in the focus countries. Globally, the U.S. is supporting care for over 10.1 million, including over 4 million children.

World AIDS Day Coverage on America.gov

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