In all, it’s estimated more 14 million people are eligible for treatment.

Africa remains the hardest hit by the epidemic. The report says 68 percent of all people living with HIV/AIDS are in sub-Saharan Africa. And the region accounts for 70 percent of all new infections. South Africa continues to have more people living with HIV/AIDS than any other country, with 5.6 million.

Despite those figures, Ghys said there is good news for sub-Saharan Africa.

“First of all, it is the epicenter of the epidemic. It is the region that is most affected. But it is also a region where we have quite a few good examples of favorable trends. So, this is true in the area of treatment where a lot of progress has been made,” he said.

There are also favorable trends among African youth, such as having fewer sexual partners and a greater use of condoms.

Do what works

In these times of tight budgets and spending cuts among donors, UNAIDS has come up with what’s called an investment framework. The goal is to target those areas that are most successful. This includes anti-retroviral treatment and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV.

The International HIV/AIDS Alliance calls the report encouraging.

“For the first time we have seen the tremendous result of a collective effort paying off,” said Dr. Gitau Mburu, the alliance’s senior adviser on HIV. The collective effort includes governments, civil society, communities, scientists and healthcare workers.