The public shouldn’t relax on the fight against HIV/Aids after the UN recently slashed down the disease prevalence rate estimates worldwide, a top health official has warned.
Dr Innocent Nyaruhirira, who is the State Minister for HIV/Aids and other Infectious Diseases, was on Wednesday reacting to the Unaids report released early this week.

The report revises downwards the number of people infected with HIV/Aids the world over from nearly 40 million to 33.2 million.

"People should still keep it in their minds that HIV/Aids is still rampant however much the report claims its decline globally,” Dr Nyaruhirira warned.

Referring to the 2005 national estimates that showed a drop in HIV/Aids prevalence to 3 percent, Dr Nyaruhirira, however acknowledged that the rate of the pandemic’s new infection cases could have indeed decreased.

The UN report gives two reasons for the downward revisions as better data and an actual decrease in the number of new infections. 

The new figures suggest that some 33.2 million people are infected with the HIV/Aids. About 30.8 million are adults and 2.5 million are children.

However, the report stresses that the statistical evidence showed the scourge was creeping back in countries that have become less careful.

While in Sub-Saharan Africa, it the report estimated that 1.7 million people became infected this year, there has been a significant reduction since 2001.

Africa is the hardest hit continent, with 22.5 million people infected with HIV.

"Eight countries in this region now account for almost one-third of all new HIV infections and AIDS deaths globally,” the report states.

It also indicates the number of new global HIV infections have reduced from 3 million people each in the late 1990s as compared to an estimated at 2.5 million for 2007.

Each day there are more than 6,800 new HIV infections and 5,700 Aids-related deaths, according to the report, which warns that the disease will pose a major health concern for years.

Ends