UNITED NATION: Even though the addition in HIV infected among adults and children has been reduced by as much as 40 percent since its previous peak in 1997, this decline among adults has stalled for the previous five years, says a new report issued by the UNAIDS, an agency of the United Nations.
The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Prevention Gap Report reveals that an estimated 1.9 million adults have become infected with HIV every year in at least the previous five years and that new HIV infections among adults are rising in some regions.
“We are sounding the alarm,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director, UNAIDS, at a press conference in Geneva while launching the report. “The power of prevention is not being realised. If there is a resurgence in new HIV infections now, the epidemic will become impossible to control. The world needs to take urgent and immediate action to close the prevention gap.”
The report also notes that annual new HIV infections increased 57 percent from 2010 to 2015 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia . After years of experiencing a steady decline, the Caribbeans also saw a nine percent rise among adults. In the Middle East and North Africa, annual new HIV infections have increased by four percent.
There have been no significant declines in any other regions of the world. New HIV infections have only declined marginally in Western and Central Europe and North America as well as Western and Central Africa since 2010. Since the beginnning of the AIDS epidemic, almost 35 years ago, as many as 35 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses and an estimated 78 million people have become infected with HIV. New HIV infections among children have declined by more than 70 percent since 2001 and are continuing to decline.
It is estimated that men who have sex with men are 24 times more likely to become infected with HIV than the general population, while sex workers and people who inject drugs are 24 and 10 times more likely respectively. In addition, the transgender population is 49 times more likely to be living with HIV while prisoners are five times more likely to be living with HIV than adults in the general population. It is essential for these key populations to have an access to the full range of HIV prevention options in order to protect themselves and their sexual partners from HIV.
“Today, we have multiple prevention options,” said Sidibé. “The issue is access – if people do not feel safe or have the means to access combination HIV prevention services, we will not end this epidemic,” he added. The report also highlights that major hopes for any antiretroviral therapy to have an impact on preventing new HIV infections are also starting to be realised, although the full benefits may not be seen for some tme in the future.
International donor contributions have also dropped from a peak of $9.7 billion in 2013 to $8.1 billion in 2015. Low- and middle-income countries are stepping up to fill the gap, with domestic resources accounting for 57 percent of the $19.2 billion total funding in 2015. In June 2016, the United States announced the launch of a new $100 million Key Populations Investment Fund to increase access to HIV services for key populations. The current allocation of resources for HIV prevention is falling far short of what is needed. At present, 20 percent of global resources for HIV are being spent on HIV prevention. “Science, innovation and research have provided new and effective HIV prevention options, rapid diagnostics and improved treatment for HIV,” noted Sidibé. “Investing in innovation is the only way to secure the next big breakthrough – a cure or a vaccine,” he added.
