UN says HIV cases are falling with fewer dying from Aids

The number of new HIV infections and deaths from Aids are falling globally, according to new statistics from the UN's programme on HIV/Aids.

The report compiled by UNAIDS found that in 2009 there were 2.6m new HIV infections, down almost 20% since the peak of the Aids epidemic in 1999.

The number of terminal cases also fell, with 1.8m Aids-related deaths in 2009.

The number of people living with Aids and HIV is now more than 33m.

Michel Sidibie, Executive Director of UNAIDS said "we are breaking the trajectory of the epidemic".