Although vast medical advances have been made to make HIV positive status a life-long health disorder rather than a death sentence in the developed world, resource-poor regions affected by the epidemic continue to struggle.

Disease burden can be observed by the global distribution of individuals living with HIV and the number of HIV-related deaths by region. Out of the estimated 33.2 million HIV+ individuals globally, 22.5 million are sub-Saharan Africans. Eight African countries have a prevalence rate of over 10%, the highest being in Swaziland, where one in every 3 people is suspected to be positive.

1.7 million of the 2.5 million HIV-related deaths were also suffered by sub-Saharan Africans. Since young adults and middle-aged people are the most heavily affected, it is not uncommon to see grandmothers caring for AIDS orphans or for young adolescents acting as the head of the household.
The number of people newly-infected by region sheds light on current preventive behaviors and the future demographics and geography of the epidemic. Of the 2.1 million people newly infected, 1.6 million were in sub-Saharan Africa.

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History of HIV/AIDS
HIV in the United States
Treatment as Prevention: Antiretroviral Therapy