The number of people infected with HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, has fallen by 17 percent in the past eight years. Figures presented today in Shanghai by UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation also show a drop of over 10 percent in AIDS-related deaths in the past five years.

UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS says that while an increasing number of people now have access to the medicines that combat the virus, over half of those who need these life-saving drugs still cannot obtain them.

Last year there were 33.4 million people in the world with HIV/AIDS, compared to 33 million in 2007. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the worst affected by the disease: it is still home to two-thirds of the world's cases.