The UN is urging “urgent and immediate” action to prevent the spread of HIV with a stream of new cases bringing to an end a steady decline in the number infections, with around 2 million people now contracting the virus on an annual basis globally.
Advertisement
“One of the problems we still have in Australia is people not getting tested, not knowing they’re infected with HIV, and turning up for their first test when they already have AIDS, or already have significant immune damage”, she said.
Gus Cairns, a 60 years old HIV patient, recalls old times when many were dying from AIDS two decades ago.
In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, new infections jumped 57 per cent between 2010 and 2015. “If we don’t, the human and financial consequences will be catastrophic.” said the executive director Michel Sidibé of UNAIDS. “The power of prevention is not being realised”.
“We have a 5-year window of opportunity”.
It is a sharp contrast to the early 1990s when about 1000 Australians died each year from the disease.
“The overall prevalence of HIV infection is about 30%”. “Gogos are frequently the sole breadwinners for their families and shoulder the responsibility of caring for their grandchildren, many of whom have been impacted by HIV/AIDS”, Hodgkinson said.
The report states that the epidemic is concentrate amongst key populations and their sexual partners who inject drugs. “Today, we have multiple prevention options”, said Sidibé.
It does not, however mark the end of the fight against HIV, which is ongoing.
But out of the estimated 37 million people worldwide living with HIV less than half actually receive therapy.
But, they said, “the challenges. remain substantial”, and there are still many pieces missing in the puzzle.
Alongside this, HIV prevention initiatives need to adapt to the introduction of new bio-medical prevention technologies such as pre-exposure prophylaxis.
The AIDS epidemic is over down under, BuzzFeed reports. Today, combination antiretroviral therapy offers individuals with HIV almost normal lifespans if they start treatment early and are able to adhere to their therapy. The country now invests more than $1 billion annually to run its HIV and AIDS programmes.
“The epidemic itself is swelling larger and larger but the exciting thing is we have got a range of new tools that if activated could prevent transmission within 15 years”.
The current allocation of resources for HIV prevention is falling far short of what is needed.
ART is a lifelong treatment regimen for people living with HIV.
Martinez added that in order to reach zero new HIV infections in Australia, efforts with vulnerable communities need to redoubled and they include women, “non-community gay men” and people from non-English speaking backgrounds.
But it would not make sense for many other countries.
Advertisement
Antiretroviral therapy has done wonders in life of people with AIDS.
