Not too long ago the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) had set an encouraging goal: Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. “There is a strong global consensus that the tools now exist to end the AIDS epidemic”, UNAIDS had stated in a November 2014 report. This pipe dream however seems to be far from reality.

A new report by Institute by Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) shows that there are ‘significant challenges to ending the AID pandemic’. It also brings to light some alarming figures about AIDS in Pakistan. We look at some key figures about AIDS in 2015.

The year saw over 8,000 new cases in Pakistan

1·2 million people died worldwide

Encouragingly, however, the report found that, “HIV/AIDS mortality has been declining at a steady pace”. While there were 1·8 million deaths in 2005, 1·2 million died in 2015.

Almost 1,500 died in Pakistan alone

The number of people living with HIV/AIDS increased