Port Louis — The United Nations says close to 40 million people are infected with the HIV-AIDS virus - almost half are women.

Women are eight times more likely than men to contract HIV during unprotected sex, with most learning they are infected once they are pregnant. Of more than 600,000 new infections in children each year, 90 percent are mother-to-child transmissions.

"In some developing countries, HIV has significantly increased the burden of care for many women, particularly in the developing world with far-reaching social, health and economic consequences," said Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, from France's Institut Pasteur.