AFRICA: Mapping progress on universal access

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JOHANNESBURG, 1 December 2010 (IRIN) - In sub-Saharan Africa, which shoulders nearly 70 percent of the global HIV burden, progress on the universal access targets for HIV/AIDS ranges from the good to the bad, and for most countries is somewhere in between. HIV infection rates in sub-Saharan Africa range between less than 1 percent and nearly 26 percent, with the vast majority of infections concentrated in the 10 countries of southern Africa. Fortunately, those countries have been some of the best performers when it comes to two key indicators for universal access: the percentage of people medically eligible for antiretroviral treatment (ART) who receive it, and the percentage of HIV-positive pregnant women who receive prevention of mother-to-child transmission services (PMTCT). Several countries looked set to achieve universal access to ART (defined as coverage of at least 80 percent of the population in need) by the 2010 deadline until the World Health Organization revised its treatment guidelines at the end of 2009. The new guidelines greatly increased the percentage of people eligible for treatment, making universal access to treatment a less attainable goal. IRIN/PlusNews has used data drawn from the 2010 UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, to compile three maps comparing progress on the universal access targets across sub-Saharan Africa. The first map [ http://www.plusnews.org/Antiretroviral_treatment_coverage_based_on_WHO_2006_Guidelines.htm ] shows the percentage of people in need of treatment, according to the WHO's 2006 guidelines, who were receiving it in each country by the end of 2009. The second map [ http://www.plusnews.org/Antiretroviral_treatment_coverage_based_on_WHO_2010_Guidelines.htm ] shows progress on ART access, according to the WHO's 2010 guidelines. The third map [ http://www.plusnews.org/HIV_positive_pregnant_women_who_received_PMTCT.htm ] shows the percentage of HIV-positive pregnant women who received PMTCT by the end of 2009. ks/cb © IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org