"Illusion and deception. One door opens, another one closes before their eyes. In the silence of the night, "mojaditos" crying as they cross the line. The "coyote" is on the run. They don't understand why. Dream and reality is their wonderland in disguise. Someone's children, anonymous shadows to the rest of us. Thousands of unspoken and ignored inconveniences. One bleeding border, one more night." Sergio Gomez
Since the first cases were reported in 1981:
• Morethan25millionpeoplehavediedofAIDSworldwide,andanother 33 million are currently living with HIV/AIDS.
• While cases have been reported in all regions of the world, almost all those living with HIV (96%) reside in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Most people living with HIV or at risk for HIV do not have access to prevention, care, and treatment, and there is still no cure.
• HIV primarily affects those in their most productive years; more than half of new infections are among those under age 25.
According to the latest global estimates from UNAIDS and WHO:
• There were 33 million people living with HIV in 2007, up from 29.5 million in 2001, the result of continuing new infections, people living longer with HIV, and general population growth.
• The global prevalence rate (the percent of people ages 15–49 who are infected) has leveled since 2000 and was 0.8% in 2007.
• 2 million people died of AIDS in 2007, up from 1.7 million in 2001, but deaths are now declining due in part to antiretroviral treatment (ART) scale-up. HIV is a leading cause of death worldwide and the number one cause of death in Africa.
• Globally, there were 2 million children living with HIV in 2007, 370,000 new infections among children, and 270,000 AIDS deaths. There are approximately 15 million AIDS orphans today (children who have lost one or both parents to HIV), most of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa (77%).
• An estimated 8 in 10 people infected with HIV do not know it.
