Number of new HIV cases in Europe rising fast

A new report shows that the number of women living with HIV has risen in each region of the world over the past two years, with the steepest increases taking place in East Asia, followed by Eastern Europe.

Although the worst affected region remains sub-Saharan Africa, in Europe the problem is getting bigger every year.

The latest findings were published on Wednesday in the AIDS Epidemic Update 2004, the annual report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World Health Organisation. The joint report was released in advance of World AIDS Day, commemorated worldwide on December 1.

The report reveals that in Western Europe newly diagnosed HIV infections through heterosexual contact have more than doubled between 1997 and 2002. Infections increased by 122 per cent in the period.

For homosexual contact, infections increased by 22 per cent in 2001-2002. In England, HIV infection is now the fastest-growing serious health condition.

The proportion of infected women is also rising rapidly. The UN survey says that in the 12 Western European countries for which data is available, the proportion of women among people newly diagnosed with HIV infection increased from 25 per cent in 1997 to 38 per cent in 2002. Specific data on Malta is not included in the study.

The situation appears more stable in Central Europe. According to the document, in the countries of central Europe, including the Czech Republic and Hungary, the number of new HIV infections have remained stable since the late 1990s, with most of the new infections being recorded in Poland. However, Eastern Europe - which includes non-EU countries such as the Ukraine and Russia - has seen a 40 per cent jump in infections in the past two years.

During a press conference in Brussels, Development Commissioner Louis Michel said the figures showed a serious reality which the EU must continue to react to. He said the EU will table an action plan in April 2005 with "targeted measures" to face up to AIDS and other maladies.

The European Commission said it has committed €460 million to the Global Fund against AIDS between 2001 and 2006 and that the EU will contribute €2.4 billion over the same period.