HIV and AIDS: Facts & Figures

Key statistics: 2022

• 6 million people with HIV
• 8% adult HIV prevalence
• 160,000 new HIV infections
• 45,000 AIDS-related deaths
• 7 million people on antiretroviral treatment

Progress towards targets
The current targets for HIV testing and treatment are called the 95-95-95 targets and must be reached by 2025 in order to end AIDS by 2030.

Women and girls
Women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of the HIV epidemic, with women twice as likely to have HIV than men. Around one-third of women are likely to experience intimate partner violence in South Africa – and this has increased in recent years, linked to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Violence against women and girls is a huge issue and can prevent women from testing for HIV and starting and staying on treatment. It also helps drive transmission.

Young people
Young people (ages 15-24) are at heightened risk of getting HIV. In 2022, around one-third of all new infections were among young people.

Prevention
Preventing HIV in South Africa focuses on:

• prevention of mother-to-child transmission
• distributing condoms, including male and female condoms
• voluntary medical male circumcision
• PrEP – a daily pill that can prevent HIV (vaginal ring and injectable PrEP being trialled but cost remains an issue)
• management of sexually transmitted infections, including partner infections
• linking closely to HIV testing services.

Treatment
Treatment for HIV is:

• free
• started as soon as someone tests positive
• usually a three-in-one tablet (a Dolutegravir-containing fixed dose combination)
• given as a multi-month prescription (usually six months if someone is stable on treatment)
• received by more people with HIV than any other country in the world.

Source: AVERT
https://www.beintheknow.org/understanding-hiv-epidemic/data/glance-hiv-south-africa

For latest statistics see UNAIDS website: https://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/southafrica