The United Nations said there has been more than a 50 percent drop in new HIV infections across more than two dozen countries—most in Africa—and noted a significant drop in new cases among children.
The 25 nations were described by the U.N. as low- and middle-income countries, but the recent figures show a dramatic reduction in the virus. There was a 73 percent reduction in Malawi, a 71 percent reduction in Botswana, 68 percent in Namibia, 58 percent in Zambia, 50 percent in Zimbabwe, and a 41 percent reduction in Swaziland and in South Africa—the country with the most infections.
There have also been fewer HIV infections in children, the U.N. said. Half of the new worldwide infections in the past two years were among newborn babies. There were 330,000 new infections in children in 2011, around a 25 percent reduction since 2009.
