
Sunday marks World AIDS Day, a day to raise awareness about the immune deficiency disease caused by the HIV virus. According to UNAIDS, 39.9 million people worldwide are living with HIV, with nearly a quarter of them not receiving life-saving medications. While HIV is now treatable, preventing the progression to AIDS and making those treated non-infectious, UNAIDS reports that 630,000 people still died in connection with HIV and AIDS in 2023.
In Austria, an estimated 8,400 people are living with HIV, according to an HIV cohort study. New diagnoses in the country have stagnated. According to the latest UNAIDS report, the fight against HIV is hindered in some countries by the discrimination faced by those with AIDS or those at high risk of infection. In 28 countries, the number of new infections is rising. One key factor is that fear of stigmatization prevents people from seeking medical help. Last year, there were 1.3 million new infections globally.