Eliminating the AIDS epidemic is still possible by 2030

Ending the AIDS epidemic is still possible by 2030, but only if those on the front lines have the capacity and their efforts are recognised, the United Nations said.

According to Agence France-Presse, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS noted in its annual report published today (Tuesday) on the occasion of World AIDS Day, designated on December 1, that the initiatives undertaken by the various communities closest to The battle is often unrecognized, lacks potential, and is sometimes attacked.

“Communities all over the world have shown that they are ready, willing and able to open the way, but they need to remove the barriers that hinder their work and obtain sufficient capabilities,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of the program.

Byanyima noted that “decision makers often treat local communities as problems to be managed, instead of recognizing their leadership role and providing them with support in this capacity,” stressing that “communities do not constitute an obstacle, they open the way to eliminating AIDS.”

In 2015, the United Nations announced for the first time that its goal was to end the threat posed by AIDS to public health by 2030.

The number of people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is 39 million worldwide.

Of these, 20.8 million are in East and Southern Africa, and 6.5 million are in the Asia and Pacific regions.

But out of these 39 million, 9.2 million cannot obtain the necessary treatments, even though their effectiveness has been proven.

Lack of support

The report found that laws and policies that are harmful to people at risk of contracting HIV put at risk communities that want to help patients or prevent infection.

The program also believed that victory in the battle against the epidemic will not be possible except with the support of these communities that are standing on the front line.

About $20.8 billion was available for HIV programs in low- and middle-income countries in 2022, but it is far less than the $29.3 billion needed through 2025.

The annual cost of treatment has fallen from $25,000 per person in 1995 to less than $70 in many of the countries most affected today by the virus.

The report showed that funds channeled through these communities decreased from 31 percent in 2012 to 20 percent in 2021.

Repression against marginalized groups prevents the provision of HIV prevention and treatment services, while the lack of funding these communities suffer makes their efforts less effective and limits their expansion.

New infections

There were 1.3 million new infections with the virus worldwide last year, down from a peak of 3.2 million in 1995.

In 2022, 86 percent of those infected were aware of their status, which is critical to help stop transmission, 76 percent were receiving antiretroviral therapy, and 71 percent had viral loads low enough to meet the definition of elimination. The virus.

The United Nations program indicated that 53 percent of all people infected with HIV are women and girls.

Although the disease has become less deadly today, 630,000 people died in 2022 from causes related to HIV.

Since the pandemic appeared in the late 1970s, 85.6 million people have been infected with the virus and 40.4 million have died.