The world witnessed a surge in new HIV infections in 2023, with 1.3 million new cases reported globally, according to a report released by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Geneva on Tuesday.
Released ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1, the report stressed the urgent need for global action to combat the rising tide of HIV infections.
A staggering 630,000 individuals succumbed to AIDS-related illnesses globally in 2023, the report showed. It further revealed that approximately 39.9 million people are currently living with HIV, a concerning increase of 900,000 from the previous year. Alarmingly, 9.3 million of of those affected by HIV are still denied access to life-saving treatment.
The report emphasized the urgent need to protect vulnerable groups, particularly women and girls, from disproportionately high infection rates. Around 570 young women and girls aged 15 to 24 acquired HIV every day in 2023.
On the same day, UNAIDS officials held a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York to unveil the findings of the report. Angeli Achrekar, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, stressed the urgent need to intensify the global fight against AIDS.
"In 28 countries, the number of new HIV infections is on the rise, and of the nearly 40 million people living with HIV, 9.3 million people are still in need of treatment," she said.
Achrekar underscored that human rights abuses, such as denying women access to education and tolerating gender-based violence, hinder HIV prevention efforts and contribute to the alarming rise in HIV infections.
"Today, 1.3 million people around the world acquire HIV and AIDS. This is three times higher than the 2025 target that the globe is set to achieve, that's 4,000 new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women just in a week," she said.
"Adolescent girls and young women, key populations, children, for example, these are the populations that are hardest to reach and hardest to find," she added.
Global HIV infections rise by 1.3 million in 2023: UN
A new round of trade-in subsidy program is energizing China's consumer market these days, with provinces across the country seeing a surge in demand for cars, home appliances and digital devices.
In north China's Shanxi Province, the new trade-in subsidy program, which started on January 9, has further helped boost sales in home appliances and digital devices which are covered by the new round of subsidies.
To enjoy the subsidies, six types of home appliances, including refrigerators and washing machines, must meet national Level 1 energy-efficiency or water-efficiency standards. Digital and smart products include four types, such as mobile phones and tablets, with a sales price cap of 6,000 yuan (about 800 U.S. dollars) per item.
In both categories, subsidies are set at 15 percent of the final transaction price. For home appliances, the maximum subsidy is 1,500 yuan per item. For digital products, the cap is 500 yuan per item. Each consumer can receive a subsidy for one unit in each category.
Neighboring Shanxi, Hebei Province kicked off the year of 2026 with the new round of trade-in subsidy program starting on January 1.
The subsidies cover automobiles, home appliances, and digital products. Individual consumers who purchase designated Level 1 energy-efficiency appliances or eligible digital products priced at no more than 6,000 yuan can receive subsidies equal to 15 percent of the transaction price. The maximum subsidy is 1,500 yuan per appliance and 500 yuan per digital or smart device, with each person limited to one subsidized item in each category.
Data showed that from Jan 1 to 9, Hebei's home appliance trade-in program alone disbursed more than 130 million yuan in subsidies, driving sales of over 920 million yuan.
In east China's Jiangsu Province, the new trade-in subsidy program, taking effect for two weeks, has brought the province a boom in trade-in.
At a local 4S store in Jiangsu's Suqian City, showroom traffic has spiked as salespeople walked customers through the new benefits from the trade-in subsidy program.
"Under the scrappage-and-replacement scheme, customers who buy a new energy vehicle (NEV) can receive a subsidy worth 12 percent of the vehicle price, capped at 20,000 yuan (about 2,860 U.S. dollars). For combustion-engine cars, the subsidy is 10 percent, with an upper limit of 15,000 yuan. For trade-ins, NEVs are able to receive a subsidy worth 8 percent of the vehicle price, up to 15,000 yuan, while combustion-engine cars will receive a 6-percent subsidy, with a cap of 13,000 yuan," said Sun Yue, a saleswoman at the store.
In the home appliance sector, Jiangsu's policy this year stipulates that only products that meet China's Level 1 energy-efficiency standard are eligible for subsidies. The scheme covers six major categories, including refrigerators and washing machines.
Consumers who purchase qualifying appliances can receive a subsidy equal to 15 percent of the final retail price, up to a maximum of 1,500 yuan per item. Each person is limited to one subsidized unit per product category.
Four types of digital and smart products, such as mobile phones and tablets, are eligible for a 15-percent subsidy capped at 500 yuan per unit, with a retail price no more than 6,000 yuan.
"With the national subsidy policy back in place this year, I went to the store to check what discounts I could get. It knocked 500 yuan off the price. [The discounted price is] very reasonable," said Wang Kang, a resident of Jiangsu's Xuzhou Province.
To enhance the shopping experience for consumers, many retailers are pairing subsidies with "one-stop" services that combine the delivery of new products with on-site collection of old ones.
"After consumers place an order for new home appliances, our staff will schedule a time to pick up the old units. Recycling the old appliance can also further offset the purchase price of the new one," said Yang Jie, a sales supervisor at a major home appliance company.
China's new trade-in program sparks consumption boom
