2023-07-13 23:43:54
And “strong political commitment” and a financial choice that accompanies it: these are the two major ingredients that would make it possible to eradicate the AIDS pandemic in the world over the next few years, argue the United Nations (UN).
The roadmap presented Thursday, July 13 in the new UNAIDS report “shows that success is possible in this decade”, underlines the executive director of the organization, Winnie Byanyima. The report admits that “We are not yet on the path to ending AIDS, but that we can choose to embark on this path, it is a choice”she said at a press conference.
The organization takes global action to “Ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030”as part of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015. It calls for fighting inequalities, supporting communities and civil society organizations in the response and ensuring adequate and sustainable funding.
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Another death every minute
Ms. Byanyima notes in this regard that progress has been greatest in the countries and regions that have invested the most financially, citing Eastern and Southern Africa, where new infections have decreased by 57% since 2010.
Botswana, Eswatini, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have already achieved the so-called “95-95-95” targets: 95% of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 95% of these people are on life-saving antiretroviral treatment, and 95% of people on treatment are virally suppressed (and therefore no longer transmitting the virus).
Sixteen other countries, including eight in sub-Saharan Africa – the region where 65% of HIV-positive people live – are on track to achieve this goal. Thailand, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Denmark are also on this list.
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According to UNAIDS, there are an estimated 39 million people living with HIV worldwide. The number of people on antiretroviral treatment has fallen from 7.7 million in 2010 to 29.8 million in 2022, while new infections have fallen by 59% since their peak in 1995. There has also been a drop of 58 % of new infections in children between 2010 and 2022, the lowest level since the 1980s.
But in 2022, one person would still die every minute from AIDS, and around 9.2 million people are still not on treatment, including 660,000 HIV-positive children.
For Ms. Byanyima, ending AIDS would be “the opportunity for today’s leaders to leave an incredible mark in history”. “They could embody the potential of political voluntarism,” she adds.
Decreasing global funding
Several obstacles are holding back the acceleration of progress. In 2022 and 2023, five countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Cook Islands, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Singapore) decriminalized same-sex sexual relations.
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But laws that criminalize most-at-risk populations or their behaviors are still in effect across much of the world, UNAIDS said. The vast majority of countries (145) criminalize the use or possession of small amounts of drugs, 67 countries criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, and 20 countries criminalize transgender people. In addition, 143 countries criminalize or prosecute HIV exposure, non-disclosure or transmission of the virus.
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When “Leaders are ignoring, isolating and criminalizing people living with HIV or at risk of infection, progress in the AIDS response is being hampered and more and more people are contracting the virus”points out the UNAIDS.
Another daunting challenge is financing the global response. After increasing considerably in the early 2010s, it fell back last year to the same level as in 2013. In 2022, a total of 20.8 billion dollars (approximately 18.5 billion euros) was available for HIV programs in low- and middle-income countries, down 2.6% from 2021 and well below the $29.3 billion estimated to be needed by 2025.
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