The most alarming surge in HIV infections is in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where there was a 46% rise in the number of those living with HIV between 2001 and 2003. Transmission here is mainly linked to prostitution and intravenous drug use, both of which have flourished since the demise of the Soviet bloc.

North Africa and the Middle East seem to have experienced a similar increase, but these figures may be unreliable, since surveillance is far from complete.

Source: UNAIDS