Eastern Europe and Central Asia still home to world's fastest-growing HIV/AIDS epidemic

The unfortunate distinction of having the world's fastest-growing HIV/AIDS epidemic still belongs to eastern Europe and Central Asia, according to the report, AIDS epidemic update 2002, released this week (1). In southern Africa, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has greatly decreased the capacity of farm communities to survive famine (2). The update on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic was issued by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization, in advance of World AIDS day on 1 December.