Impatient Optimists
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10 Must-Know Facts About the State of AIDS

Trevor DeWitt
November 28, 2012

A new report from ONE is sharing news that should make everyone sit up and take notice: The world is off track in the fight to reach the beginning of the end of AIDS. And 2013 will be a critical year in determining whether it can get back on course. 

The report, "The Beginning of the End? Tracking Global Commitments on AIDS", shows that while great progress has been achieved, if we maintain current levels of funding and support for HIV treatment and prevention, the beginning of the end won't be achievable until 2022. 

As we approach World AIDS Day December 1--traditionally a time for reflection and remembrance, hope and optimism--here are ten facts to help reflect on the current state of AIDS around the world, as well as some reasons to be optimistic that together, with strong leadership, we can end this epidemic. 

10 Must-Know Facts About the State of AIDS

Storified by Gates Foundation · Wed, Nov 28 2012 08:55:45

FACT: More than 34 million people are living with #HIV today. #WorldAIDSDayGates Foundation
FACT: More than 2.5 million people still become infected with #HIV each year. #WorldAIDSDayGates Foundation
FACT: 1.7 million men, women, and children still died from #AIDS in 2011. We must do more. #WorldAIDSDayGates Foundation
FACT: The U.S. can provide lifesaving HIV treatment to someone in need for less than $1 per day. #WorldAIDSDayGates Foundation
FACT: The U.S. government is the global leader in funding and creating a vision for an AIDS-free generation. #WorldAIDSDayGates Foundation
FACT: 2013 will be a critical year in the global #AIDS fight. We must continue support for @globalfundnews. #WorldAIDSDayGates Foundation
FACT: With support, the Global Fund can save 10 million lives and prevent more than 140 million new #HIV infections by 2016. #WorldAIDSDayGates Foundation
FACT: New data shows that #AIDS treatment also works as prevention, reducing transmission rates by as much as 96%. #WorldAIDSDayGates Foundation
FACT: Mother-to-child transmission of #HIV can now be prevented in more than 95% of cases. #WorldAIDSDayGates Foundation
FACT: The world is off-track for achieving the beginning of the end of #AIDS by 2015. #WorldAIDSDayGates Foundation

 
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Trevor DeWitt

New Media Communications Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

@trevor_dewitt

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  • "Our desire to bring every good thing to our children is a force for good throughout the world. It’s what propels societies forward." —Melinda Gates

  • The Global Fund has helped to deliver more than 190 million bed nets to protect families from malaria.

  • "The world faces a clear choice. If we invest relatively small amounts, many more poor farmers will be able to feed their families." —Bill Gates, 2012 Annual Letter

  • "When it come to global health, Bill and I are optimists—but we're impatient optimists. Tremendous progress is being made. But there is still so much we're impatient to see done." —Melinda French Gates

  • In Senegal, 80% of households now have a bed net, helping the number of malaria cases there drop 50% in a single year.

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