World Aids Day was on 1 December and South Africa has something to celebrate. There are fewer people living with HIV than there were 5 years ago. More people are aware of their HIV status and 91% of adults who know their status are on antiretroviral treatment. About 94% of those adults are virally suppressed.

These are the findings of the 6th South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behaviour and Communication Survey conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and its partners.

There are about 7.8-million people living with HIV in South Africa, the HSRC estimates. Earlier this year, the World Health Organisation said there were about 39-million people worldwide living with HIV and 25.6-million of those were in Africa.

The WHO said about 380,000 deaths in 2022 could be attributed to HIV-related causes, a decrease of 56% from 2010.

In South Africa, HIV-related deaths have plummeted by 82% since the 2004 to 2006 period, when they peaked at an estimated 250,000 deaths a year.