Issue Position: International Relations - The Global AIDS Pandemic

Issue Position

During 2006, 4.3 million adults and children became infected with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), the virus that causes AIDS. By the end of the year, an estimated 39.5 million people worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS and 2.9 million people that were living with AIDS lost their battle against the disease. In the USA alone, between 1,039,000 and 1,185,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS. An average of 40,000 new HIV infections occurs in the USA each year with approximately 25% of these infection occurring with people under 25.

In May 2006, UNAIDS reported that there were an estimated 21.66 million to 27.40 million HIV-positive adults and children in Africa, including 2.7 million people newly infected during the year. The total number of people infected with HIV had risen to between 21.8 and 27.7 million by late 2006, and there were about 2.8 million newly infected during the year. Africa has just over 11% of the world's population but about 64% of the global HIV-positive population.

While the AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean countries does not compare to the severity of the pandemic in Africa, there are an estimated 420,000 people living with AIDS an estimated of 250,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean. In 2006, 140,000 people were newly infected and 65,000 people lost their battle against the disease. In the Caribbean region there were 27,000 new infections and 19,000 deaths due to the pandemic in the region. Moreover, the HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate in several countries in the Caribbean is among the highest outside of sub-Saharan Africa.

Consequently, UNAID reported in recent years that AIDS spending by national countries have increased to over $685 million being spent annually. There are currently 1.7 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in neighboring Latin America.

Current projections suggest that an additional 45 million people in 126 low- and middle-income countries will become infected between 2002 and 2010 unless the world succeeds in mounting a drastically expanded global prevention effort.

The United States has committed itself to the global war on AIDS, and I support these efforts. For the 110th Congress I have co-sponsored seven bills that all seek to mitigate the catastrophic impact of this disease. I have advocated the plights of those affected and infected by this disease, permeating geographic barriers and serving multifaceted groups from disparate backgrounds.

The scientific community has not yet found a cure for HIV/AIDS. But there is a vast body of knowledge that has improved in a significant way the quality of treatment for those who have HIV and AIDS.

I have long been concerned with the problem of HIV/AIDS, not just in our own country, but also as it affect the poorest countries of the world. I will continue to work hard to ensure that this global epidemic is appropriately addressed.

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