World AIDS Day: Migrants Disproportionately Affected by HIV and AIDS in High-Income Countries, Says IOM

Migrants are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS in high-income countries, says IOM as it marks World AIDS Day.

This year's UNAIDS Report on the global AIDS epidemic demonstrates that for the first time in the history of AIDS, an end to the epidemic is on the horizon and the rates of new infections in traditionally high-burden countries are going down. But many challenges remain. For example, in high-income countries in North America and Europe, the total number of people living with HIV has actually increased in the last ten years.

Migrants and mobile populations are at particularly high risk of HIV infection all over the world, as they frequently face marginalization, exclusion and various barriers to accessing health promotion and care. In addition, there is also a lack of awareness of migrants' vulnerability to HIV in high-income countries, where migrants – especially those originating from high endemic countries – are disproportionally affected by HIV compared to the general population.

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On average in the European Union (EU) / European Economic Area (EEA), over one-third of all HIV infections acquired through heterosexual transmission are among people who migrated to the region from a country with a generalized HIV epidemic.

Complete press release: International Organizatio for Migration