London (ANTARA) – Climate change and conflict are hampering efforts to tackle the world’s three deadliest infectious diseases, warned the head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
International initiatives to combat the disease have largely recovered after being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the agency’s 2023 report released on Monday.
However, the increasing challenges of climate change and conflict mean the world is likely to miss its target of ending AIDS, TB and malaria by 2030, without extraordinary steps, said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund.
Sands stated that there is also positive news, for example in 2022, as many as 6.7 million people will be treated for TB in countries where the Global Fund invests, more than before, and 1.4 million more people than the previous year.
The agency also helped 24.5 million people get antiretroviral therapy for HIV, and distributed 220 million mosquito nets.
However, in a statement accompanying the report, the IMF said that efforts to get back on track after the pandemic have been made more difficult by a combination of interconnected and colliding crises, including climate change.
For example, malaria spread to highland areas of Africa that were previously too cold for mosquitoes carrying the parasite that causes the disease.
Extreme weather events such as floods are overwhelming health services, displacing communities, causing a rise in infections and disrupting treatment in many places, the report said.
In countries including Sudan, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Myanmar, reaching vulnerable communities is also a major challenge due to insecurity, he continued.
However, Sands said there is still hope, thanks in part to innovative prevention and diagnostic tools.
This week, there is a high-level meeting on TB at the UN General Assembly, and activists are hoping for more focus on the disease.
Sumber: Reuters
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2023-09-18 06:16:26
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