1.   What area of the world is most affected by AIDS?

Answer: About 30 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, making it the worst affected region of the world, according to UNAIDS, the United Nations program on HIV/AIDS. The organization estimates that 3 million children under 15 in the region are infected with HIV. (Source: UNAIDS)

2.  How many people worldwide were living with HIV or AIDS in 2002?

Answer: According to UNAIDS, 42 million were living with the disease. The United Nations Population Fund's AIDSClock gives up-to-the-minute estimates for different world regions. (Source: UNAIDS)

3.  How many people worldwide were estimated to have contracted HIV in 2002?

Answer: UNAIDS estimates that 5 million people were infected with HIV in 2002. The organization says that the most common mode of transmission is sexual intercourse. (Source: UNAIDS)

4.  Which five countries could account for as many as 75 million HIV/AIDS cases in 2010, according to the U.S. National Intelligence Council?

Answer: Nigeria, Russia, Ethiopia, India and China. These five countries make up 40 percent of the world's population, according to the U.S. National Intelligence Council. The council estimates that the number of HIV/AIDS cases in these countries will "eclipse" the number of cases in central and southern Africa, the current epicenter of the epidemic, by 2010. (Source: The U.S. National Intelligence Council)

5. How many people worldwide were receiving treatment with antiretroviral drugs (the most widely accepted method of treating HIV) at the end of 2002?

Answer: UNAIDS estimates that 800,000 people were receiving treatment with antiretroviral drugs at the end of 2002. In May 2003, the least expensive combination of brand name drugs recommended by the World Health Organization for low-income nations cost about $675 per person per year and the least expensive WHO approved generic drug combination cost just under $300 per person per year. (Source: UNAIDS)

Answer: Ninety-five percent of HIV patients live in developing countries, according to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. UNAIDS breaks down 2001 AIDS figures by country in an online database.

7.  What percentage of HIV-infected people worldwide are women?  

Answer: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about half of HIV-infected people worldwide are women. UNAIDS estimates that 60 percent of HIV/AIDS cases in sub-Saharan Africa are women.

8.  What percentage of pregnant women at risk of infection have access to drugs that protect their babies from HIV infection, according to a recent report?

Answer: Only 5 percent of pregnant woman at risk of infection have access to drugs that help protect babies from HIV infection, according to a May 2003 report by the Global HIV Prevention Group.

9.  How much will prevention, treatment, care and support programs in low- and middle-income countries cost in 2005, according to UNAIDS estimates?

Answer: UNAIDS estimates that more than $10 billion will be needed to fight AIDS in low- and middle-income countries. The organization says that funding will have to more than double from 2003 levels to meet funding needs.

10.  How many condoms were needed for HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe in 2000, according to Population Action International?

Answer: Population Action International, a nonprofit public advocacy group, estimates that 8 billion condoms were needed in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe in 2000 for HIV/AIDS prevention. Only 950 million condoms were donated that year, according to PAI. The group estimates that nearly 19 billion condoms will be required by 2015. About 42 percent of people at risk of HIV infection do not have access to condoms, according to a recent report from the Global HIV Prevention Working Group.

--By Stephen E. Mather