Pandemic has set back the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria

The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly set back the fight against other global tragedy such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, according to a cool new report released on Tuesday.

Prior to the pandemic, the world was making progress against these diseases. Overall, the number of deaths from these diseases has dropped by about half since 2004.

“The arrival of a fourth pandemic in Covid puts these struggling benefits at great risk,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, a nonprofit organization promoting HIV treatment around the world. Stated.

The pandemic flooded hospitals and disrupted the supply chain for testing and treatment. In many poor countries, the coronavirus has distracted limited public health resources from the treatment and prevention of these diseases.

Fear of being infected with the coronavirus in the clinic meant far fewer people asked for a diagnosis or medication. In addition, some patients were refused treatment because symptoms such as coughing and fever resembled those of Covid-19.

“We will continue to respond urgently and whac-a-mole for global health,” Warren said, unless comprehensive efforts to defeat the disease are resumed.

This report was edited by the World Fund, an advocacy group funding campaigns against HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.

Prior to the arrival of the coronavirus, tuberculosis was the world’s largest infectious disease killer, killing more than one million people each year. The pandemic exacerbated the damage.

In 2020, about 1 million people were tested and treated for tuberculosis compared to 2019, according to a new report. This is a reduction of about 18 percent.

The number of people treated for drug-resistant tuberculosis decreased by 19%, and the number of people treated for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis decreased by 37%. In 2019, nearly 500,000 people were diagnosed with drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Peter Sands, Secretary-General of the World Fund, said: “I’m worried that it will inevitably mean the additional deaths of hundreds of thousands.”

India, which has the highest burden of tuberculosis in the world, resumed its pre-covid rate of tuberculosis diagnosis by late 2020, but this spring’s outbreak is likely to have reversed that development, Sands said.

Lower diagnoses of tuberculosis can have widespread implications for the community. One untreated tuberculosis patient can be infected with as many as 15 bacteria each year.

Compared to 2019, the number of people seeking HIV testing decreased by 22% and the number of people who chose HIV prevention services decreased by 12% in 2020. Circumcision in men, who are thought to slow the spread of the virus, has decreased by 27%.

“There is no cure for HIV, so everyone infected has long-term effects,” Sands said.

According to the report, the diagnosis of malaria has decreased slightly. Most countries have been able to adopt measures to limit their impact on diagnosis and treatment.

Covid-19 has driven 115 million people into extreme poverty, further limiting access to treatment and assistance. In some countries, school closures and blockades have made it particularly difficult for adolescent girls and young women to receive medical services.

In the disastrous news, some hope was glimpsed. The crisis has forced many poor country health organizations and ministries to adopt innovations that can withstand a pandemic. Among them: Distribute months of supply of tuberculosis and HIV drugs, or condoms, lubricants and needles to patients; monitor tuberculosis treatment using digital tools. Then test HIV, TB and Covid-19 at the same time.

For example, in Nigeria, community health workers tested for Covid also looked for cases of HIV and tuberculosis. As a result, the country has become one of the few countries with an increasing number of HIV diagnoses compared to 2019.

In Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, bike community health workers can deliver pesticide-treated mosquito nets door-to-door to more households than ever before, rather than distributing them from trucks in the village square. , Reduced the number of malaria infections.

“It’s a bit expensive to get the internet to individual households,” Sands said, but “it was clearly a worthwhile investment.”

To minimize the impact of the pandemic, the Global Fund spent about $ 1 billion more than its regular budget, Sands said. In March 2020, the organization released $ 500 million to help countries respond. As of August 2021, it has raised $ 3.3 billion for use in 107 countries.

This money has been used to strengthen the healthcare system, provide testing, treatment, oxygen, and provide personal protective equipment to healthcare professionals.

Donors have promised to provide another $ 6 billion to HIV and $ 2 billion to tuberculosis over the next three years, Sands said.