The tragedy about AIDS is that, unlike other leading causes of death such as cancer and heart disease, it hits children, young adults and women hard. Most HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths occur in people under age 25. Further, 3 million children under the age of 15 are infected with HIV-1, and women represent half of the HIV cases in the world today.

"WHO and UNAIDS have revised the estimates of the number of people living with HIV lowering them from 39.5 millions [34.1-47.1 millions] in 2006, to 33.2 millions [30.6-36.1 millions] in 2007. This significant improvement has been made possible primarily by new methodologies, better surveillance and changes in the fundamental epidemiological hypothesis used to calculate the new estimates.

Approximately 70% of the difference can be explained with the reduction of the diffusion of infection in India (which by itself accounts for about half of the revision) and in some areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Angola"⁽¹⁾.