A new global study conducted in nine countries reveals that after HIV and AIDS emerged a quarter of a century ago, nearly half of people still do not view the disease as a deadly affliction.

Globally, 42 percent of respondents do not understand that AIDS always results in fatality and many people wrongly believe there is a cure for HIV today, according to the study from MAC AIDS Fund.

In a collusion of opinion and fact, this first-ever perception audit also found that 86 percent of adults in the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa believe stigma and shame to be a contributor to the spread of HIV. Seventy-six percent report lack of access to treatment to be a problem as well.

"Today, more than 25 years after the emergence of the disease, it is startling to learn that facts about HIV/AIDS are still a guessing game for much of the world and that many are still in the dark about the undeniable reality that HIV/AIDS shockingly remains a top global killer," said Nancy Mahon, executive director of the MAC AIDS Fund.

"Social stigmas that plagued us then are still limiting progress now. Understanding the insights from this new survey, however, is what will help take us to the next level of policy, prevention and care in the fight against AIDS," she said.

People believe treatment is more widely available than it is.

Nearly half of all respondents believe that most people diagnosed with HIV are receiving treatment, when in fact only one in five people who needed treatment received it in 2006.

In addition, prejudice, fear and stigma continue to exclude people living with AIDS from the mainstream.

Across all countries, majorities are not comfortable interacting on intimate levels with people who are HIV positive.

Nearly half of people are uncomfortable working alongside those who have the disease. Fifty-two percent do not want to live in the same house with someone who is HIV positive, and 79 percent are not comfortable dating someone who has HIV or AIDS.

Despite holding onto stigma, people understand all segments of the population are at risk to contract HIV.

Three in five (60 percent) global respondents recognize " responsible" people can contract HIV, yet more than one-quarter believe you can only get the disease from "sinful" behavior.

Yet in Brazil, China and Mexico, 60 percent or more of people believe that acting "responsibly" will protect people from HIV infection.

Gender roles and corresponding discussions of safe sex with a partner are seen as contributors to the spread of HIV.

Seventy-three percent of people report that a problem contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS is that women find it too difficult to discuss safe sex with their partners, despite the fact that using a condom is proven to be highly effective in preventing HIV infection.

The survey was conducted during a two-week period in September 2007. Approximately 500 interviews were conducted in each of nine countries.

Adult respondents were surveyed via phone, using random digit dial techniques, and face-to-face in countries where phone access is less universal (South Africa, India, Mexico and Brazil). The survey was administered in official in-country languages.

Estimated margin of error is 4.4 percent at the 95 percent confidence level per country, 1.5 percent for the total sample.

Men in China are less likely than women to understand that AIDS is always fatal (65 percent vs. 75 percent) despite the fact that they account for nearly two-thirds of the country's known HIV infections.

The MAC AIDS Fund was established in 1994 to support men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS globally.

To date, the fund has raised US$100 million exclusively through the sale of MAC's VIVA GLAM lipstick and lipglass, donating 100 percent of the sale price to fight HIV/AIDS.

(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2007)