In 2013, about 35 million people lived with HIV worldwide, a number that is comparable with the population of Canada. Due to better treatment methods, the number of deaths caused by AIDS-related illnesses is on the decline, along with the number of new infections. The recent success is fragile, however.
UNAIDS, the United Nations program dedicated to the fight against HIV, recently warned that new infections could rise again if HIV prevention and treatment approaches remained at 2013 levels. The map above shows which regions and groups of people could be particularly threatened in low- and middle-income countries by 2030 in that case.
According to the scenario, the majority of new infections may be in Africa, where heterosexuals would account for the biggest group of those newly affected, followed be female sex workers, their clients, as well as children. In Asia, homosexuals, female sex workers and their clients, as well as heterosexuals are expected to be equally threatened by AIDS in total numbers. The Middle East and South America would follow with much lower numbers of newly infected people.
Between 1990 and 2013, the number of people living with HIV increased especially in the Southern Hemisphere as well as some European countries. UNAIDS estimates that more than 39 million people have died of AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic, most of them in low- and middle-income countries.
On World AIDS Day, marked this Monday, UNICEF, the United Nations’ agency for children, also warned that while there has been a drop in AIDS-related deaths between 2005 and 2013, one core demographic has not seen such a decline: those ages 10 to 19. HIV was the second-leading cause of death among adolescents worldwide in 2012, according to the WHO.
More optimistic observers believe the HIV epidemic will sharply decline over the next decades. A new report by the advocacy group One, which was released Monday, declared that for the first time in 30 years, the world had reached a “tipping point” in the fight against HIV.
“We’re not saying the end of Aids is near but we have reached an important milestone where, for the first time, we are getting ahead of the disease,” Erin Hohlfelder, health policy director for One, was quoted as saying by theFinancial Times. The report was released Monday to mark World Aids Day.
According to the group, fewer people became infected with HIV — the human immunodeficiency virus, which leads to AIDS — than gained access to drugs against the virus in 2013. About 2.3 million people gained access to HIV treatment programs last year, compared with 2.1 million new infections. The group also said that antiretroviral drugs, which are used to fight the virus, are now available to 13.6 million people worldwide.
Currently, HIV is roughly 28 times as common among people who inject drugs and 19 times as common among men who have sex with men, compared with the average. Sex workers are 12 times as likely to be infected by the virus.
To protect those who are most marginalized by the virus, three goals need to be achieved, according to the group One: First, funds to fight the disease need to be increased to address a shortfall of $3 billion a year.
Second, stigmatized groups with limited access to treatment need to be reached. And third, the international community should be aware that current promising developments will not necessarily be a tipping point for all countries and that some nations and regions will continue to need more support than others.
If all those goals were to be achieved, the prevalence of HIV could look more like this by 2030, according to the United Nations:
The Struggles Of a HIV Positive Mother
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — A mother of four was forced to choose between HIV medication and her children.
Norlela Mokhtar, 50, was diagnosed 14 years ago as being HIV positive and three years later, she was in dire need of medication but medical care for HIV patients was not free.
“It cost about RM1,000 a month and I did not have that kind of money because I was working as a clerk at that time,” she said.
“I had to choose between myself and my children.
“I had to choose between paying for my medication or to feed my children.”
She avoided doctor’s visits and check-ups to avoid being asked to take the medication.
“In 2005, I had tuberculosis and I had no choice when I was admitted,” she said.
“Prof Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman (Malaysian AIDS Council exco member) started me on the anti-retroviral treatment, even though it was not free at that time.”
It was then that she regained her health, along with her weight.
“I was a skeleton of about 50kg as I lost so much weight. I was only 30kg at that time,” she said.
Norlela was advised by a friend of hers to get tested because her former husband was an intravenous drug user (IDU).
She believes she contracted the disease from him.
“In that year of being diagnosed, I had no support,” she said
“At that time, whatever they said did not have any impact on me because I was thinking about my four children, who were between two and 10 years old.”
She went on with life without acknowledging the disease but remained a strong front for her children.
“I made sure I was strong in front of them,” she said.
Norlela recalled the discrimination she faced, from both family and friends, but she has no regrets.
“My youngest child was taken away from me by my stepmother for fear I would infect my children,” she said.
“In the office, they didn’t let me go to the canteen or use the items in the pantry.
“However, I am not angry with them because they didn’t know how a person was infected.”
An advocate for those like her, Norlela formed Persatuan Wahidayah Malaysia (Pewahim) and the Rumah Wahidayah, a shelter for women and children living with HIV/AIDS.
She believes building a “zero discrimination” nation towards those infected with HIV/AIDS was the first step towards building a HIV/AIDS free nation.
“People are not able to get married, get a proper education or even get loans just because they are infected by HIV or AIDS. This needs to stop,” she said.
“People should also be educated, instead of taking HIV tests only when required.”
Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com