According to the 2010 UNAIDS Report on the Global Epidemic, there were about 29,160 people living with HIV in Eritrea at the end of 2009. Of these, 60.2 per cent were female and 3,180 were children.

According to the 2009 Ante-Natal Sentinel Survey, HIV prevalence in Eritrea is:

• Higher in urban areas (1.72 per cent urban and 0.38 per cent rural);
• Higher in single women (5.14 per cent);
• Higher in 25–29 year-old women (1.9 per cent);
• Low in 15–19 year-old and 40–49 year-old women (0.35 per cent and 1.04 per cent, respectively);
• Higher in women with secondary education (1.66 per cent);
• Higher in unemployed unmarried women (5.2 per cent), daily labourers (4.4 per cent), sex workers (3.6 per cent) and truck drivers (2.6 per cent);
• Higher in women whose spouse lives abroad (2.9 per cent).

According to the 2010 UNAIDS Report on the Global Epidemic, there were 4,955 people on antiretroviral therapy (ART) at the end of 2009. This represents 25 per cent of all people in need of treatment. The proportion of women on antiretroviral prophylaxis to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV was 34 per cent in the same period.