[Overview of the HIV epidemics in France and worldwide ]

In 2012, an estimated 35.3 million people were living with HIV worldwide and new HIV infections (2.3 million) were down 20% compared to 2001. Over the past year, tremendous progress has been achieved in the fight against HIV, including expanded access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. However, progress is uneven. The regions most affected by HIV, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, have seen a significant increase in ART coverage and drop in new HIV infections, while for other regions, such as the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, HIV trends have become worrisome. In many high-income countries, such as France, HIV epidemics are far from over, especially among men who have sex with men, where the HIV epidemic remains uncontrolled. Global, rapid scale-up of ART programs significantly decreased HIV/AIDS-related morbidity and mortality but has not been successful in preventing late HIV diagnosis. Reducing the time interval between HIV infection and diagnosis remains one of the biggest challenges that all HIV-affected countries have to face to further reduce HIV/AIDS-related mortality and control the HIV epidemic.