Media releases > VSO responds to new UNAIDS figures

"These revised estimates can only be good news, but the international community must not rest on its laurels. AIDS still remains the biggest cause of death in Africa and with 33 million people living with HIV and AIDS worldwide we cannot afford to be complacent.

It is still poor rural women that are among those hardest hit by the massive impact of HIV and AIDS. In Sub-Saharan Africa 75% of all young people living with HIV and AIDS are women. Abuses of women's rights leave them more vulnerable to HIV and aids than men, and women and girls also provide most of the care and support for people living with HIV and aids.

The current progress in reducing mortality and new infections is testimony to the effectiveness of AIDS funding. However, for real progress to be made, donors and national governments must ensure women's rights are at the centre of their responses to the HIV and AIDS pandemic."