The United Nations said 1.2 million HIV-positive individuals received life-saving treatment this year, increasing the worldwide total to 18 million, reports Reuters.
The uptick in treatment use has decreased AIDS-related deaths by 45 percent to 1.1 million last year, down from 2 million in 2005. With HIV-positive individuals living longer, UNAIDS said it now faces challenges of preventing the disease from spreading and limiting infections.
The U.N. aims to have 30 million HIV-positive individuals on treatment by 2020.