HIV infection remains persistently high, UN report

While the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have attracted worldwide attention, the fight against older enemies has lost its definitive grounds. Last year, more than 1.5 million people were infected with HIV, about three times the global target. Wednesday.

According to the organization’s HIV and AIDS program, UNAIDS, about 650,000 people died of AIDS in 2021. Progress on the disease has stagnated and global infectious diseases have been stable since 2018.

Tolls in 2021 were uneven, with people between the ages of 15 and 24, especially young women, playing an unbalanced part of the burden. According to the program, adolescent girls or young women were infected once every two minutes.

In sub-Saharan Africa, youth accounted for 31% of new infections, of which nearly four in five were girls and young women. In El Salvador, the prevalence of HIV has almost doubled among men who have sex with men and about eight times higher among transgender people.

In the Asia-Pacific region, new HIV infections were increasing where they were declining. And, despite the availability of preventative measures, about 160,000 children have been infected worldwide.

Stephen Wallace, an epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said:

In most countries, including the United States, only privileged groups tend to have consistent access to HIV prevention and treatment, Dr. Wallace said. “Groups that are oppressed in different parts of the world, or groups that are essentially below the social hierarchy, are not given the same access,” he said.

An estimated 40 million people worldwide live with HIV. About 10 million people, including about half of infected children, cannot receive treatment.

Fortunately, many of those already treated continued to receive treatment in 2021, thanks in part to innovative HIV programs in some countries. However, the last two years have created a wave of relentless difficulties that disrupt HIV prevention and diagnosis, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Millions of girls have graduated from school as the coronavirus has spread and teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence have skyrocketed. The pandemic has skyrocketed poverty and fuel costs.

The Ukrainian war has led to further spikes in food prices and supply chain constraints.

“When the economic crisis occurs, women, especially young women, Highly dependent on transactional sexual intercourse As a source of income, “said Harsha Tilmercy, an economist at the University of Pennsylvania. “It’s not exclusive, but generally it’s an economic story.”

In 2021, debt repayment in low-income countries accounted for 171 percent of combined health, education and social protection spending. According to the report, donor countries have tightened their purse strings, and HIV funding from countries other than the United States has fallen by 57% over the last decade.

Low- and middle-income countries will need an estimated $ 29 billion to tackle HIV by 2025, but will face a shortfall of about $ 8 billion.

“These numbers relate to political will,” UNAIDS Managing Director Winnie Byanima said in a statement.

“Are we interested in empowering and protecting girls?” She added. “Do we want to stop the deaths of children from AIDS? Do we prioritize saving lives over criminalization? If so, we need to get the AIDS reaction back on track.”

Reactions in some countries are fueled by the fact that people in marginalized communities are among the highest-risk people.

In Australia, Canada and the United States, there are more new HIV infections in black and indigenous communities than in whites. Men who have sex with men, drug users, and sex workers (which account for about 70% of the world’s infectious diseases) are about 30 times more likely to get infected than others in the population.

Effective global policies need to take these realities into account. “It’s more than giving people condoms and lubricants,” Dr. Wallace said.

For example, in an ideal world, young women have free access to assisted reproductive technology services without stigma or judgment from their families, communities, or places of worship.Dr. Till Mercy suggested: Cash transfer program It may be as essential as a medical tool to delay new infections among girls.

At the 2016 conference, UN member states set new goals for 2020. Less than 500,000 new HIV infections per year, less than 500,000 AIDS-related deaths per year, and elimination of HIV-related discrimination. Countries did not reach those goals.

Also, it is unlikely that the world will reach another goal. By 2025, reduce 370,000 new infections annually. The new report estimates that the actual number will triple.