Some 33 million [30–36 million] people were living with HIV as of 2007; 2 million [1.9–2.3 million] of them were children under 15 years, and about 15.5 million [14.2–16.9 million] were women. Globally, AIDS is among the leading causes of death and has already caused an estimated 25 million deaths. Every day, over 7,400 persons become infected with HIV and about 5,500 persons die from AIDS, mostly because of inadequate access to HIV prevention care and treatment services.

Global estimates show that the number of children living with HIV continues to increase steadily.  From 2001 to 2007, the number of children living with HIV increased from 1.6 million [1.4–2.1 million] to 2 million [1.9–2.3 million]. Almost 90 per cent of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa.