2021 UNAIDS Global AIDS Update — Confronting Inequality — 40 Years of Pandemic Lessons from AIDS — World

UNAIDS reports that people living with HIV face the dual crisis of HIV and COVID-19, while key people and children continue to be left behind in access to HIV services.

People living with HIV are at increased risk of serious COVID-19 illness and death, but the majority are denied access to the COVID-19 vaccine. The major population and its sexual partners account for 65% of new HIV infections, but are largely excluded from both HIV and COVID-19 responses. 800,000 children living with HIV do not receive the treatment they need to stay alive.

Geneva, July 14, 2021— UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2021People living with HIV, announced today, are more vulnerable to COVID-19, but highlight evidence that widespread inequality is preventing them from accessing COVID-19 vaccines and HIV services. There is.

Studies in the United Kingdom and South Africa show that people living with HIV are at twice the risk of dying from COVID-19 than the general population. In sub-Saharan Africa, where two-thirds (67%) of people living with HIV live, less than 3% received at least one COVID-19 vaccine by July 2021. At the same time, HIV prevention and treatment services avoid major populations as well as children and adolescents.

The COVID-19 vaccine has the potential to save millions of lives in developing countries, but as developed countries and businesses adhere to a monopoly on the production and delivery of supplies for profit. It is placed out of reach. This is having a serious impact on the world as the medical system in developing countries is overwhelmed, such as Uganda, where soccer stadiums are being transformed into temporary hospitals.

“Europe’s developed nations are preparing to enjoy the summer because the population has easy access to the COVID-19 vaccine while the Global North and Global South are at stake,” said Winnie Byanima, UNAIDS Executive Director. Stated. “When millions of people were denied life-saving medications and died of access inequality, we couldn’t learn the lessons of HIV. This is totally unacceptable.”

The new UNAIDS report shows how COVID-19 lockdowns and other restrictions have severely disrupted HIV testing. In many countries, this has led to a sharp decline in HIV diagnosis, referrals to care services, and the start of HIV treatment. For example, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, HIV testing has fallen by 48% after the first national blockade was imposed in April 2020. In addition, there are fewer new HIV diagnoses and treatment initiation is significantly reduced. This happened when 28,000 HIV community health workers moved from HIV testing to COVID-19 symptom screening.

Report, Confront inequalityShows that in 2020, 1.5 million new HIV infections occurred primarily between the major population and their sexual partners. People who inject drugs, transgender women, sex workers, gay men, and other men who have sex with men, and the sexual partners of these major populations, will account for 65% of HIV infections worldwide in 2020. Occupied. The major population accounted for 93% of new populations. HIV infection outside sub-Saharan Africa, and 35% in sub-Saharan Africa. However, they remain left behind and are outside the scope of HIV services in most countries.

The report states that many of the 19 countries that achieved the 90-90-90 goal by 2020 were leaders in differentiated service delivery, where facility-based services were complemented by community-led services. Is shown. Most also include major populations as the center of their reaction. In Estonia, for example, following the expansion of comprehensive harm reduction services, HIV infections have fallen by 61% nationwide, and new HIV infections in people who inject drugs have fallen by 97%.

HIV testing and treatment has expanded significantly over the last two decades. By 2020, approximately 27.4 million of the 37.7 million people living with HIV were being treated. However, the service delivery gap is much larger for children than for adults. By 2020, about 800,000 children aged 0-14 years who lived with HIV had not been treated for HIV. Treatment coverage in 2020 was 74% for adults and 54% for children. Finding and caring for a child is a major challenge, as many children are not tested for HIV at birth and remain unaware of their HIV status.

Confront inequality It also shows that women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa continue to be at high risk of HIV transmission, with gender inequality and gender-based violence at the heart of the risk. Gender inequality and gender-based violence deprive women and girls of basic human rights, including rights to education, health and financial opportunities. This increases the risk of HIV transmission and blocks access to services. In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls and young women make up 25% of all new HIV infections, despite only 10% of the population.

Poverty and lack of school education are also formidable barriers to health and HIV services. The report shows that family planning services for women and voluntary male circumcision for men and boys are far less likely to be accessed by people living in poverty. In 2020, the number of voluntary male circumcisions decreased by more than 30% in 15 priority countries in eastern and southern Africa.

Poverty has also been shown to be a driving force for migration, seriously impacting access to HIV services and endangering migrants as they flee conflict and poverty in the hope of safety and financial security. I will.

“Millionaires are sailing yachts in the same Mediterranean waters where migrants are drowning,” said Winnie Byanima. “How can I wait and make this” new normal “? We must confront these horrific inequality and regain our focus on basic and basic respect for human rights. “

Inequality does not occur naturally. They are the result of policies and programmatic actions that split rather than include. For example, major groups are marginalized and criminalized for gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and livelihood. The new analysis contained in the report shows that there is a positive correlation between improving HIV outcomes and adopting legislation that promotes the ban on discrimination. According to a survey in sub-Saharan Africa, the HIV positive rate for sex workers was 39% in countries where sex work was considered a crime, compared to 12% in countries where sex work was partially legalized. ..

“We will take 40 years to fight HIV. From both success and failure, we will eliminate inequality, promote a people-centered, rights-based approach, and work with the community to help all those who are in trouble. We have found that we cannot prepare for or defeat a pandemic without reaching out to others, “says Byanima.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Program on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS) is leading and inspiring the world to achieve a common vision of zero HIV infection, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS integrates the efforts of 11 UN organizations, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank, to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. We work closely with our global and domestic partners. Part of the Sustainable Development Goals. For more information unaids.org Connect with us Facebook, twitter, Instagram And YouTube..