“Globally, in June 2015, close to 16 million people out of a total of 37 million people living with HIV were taking ART”, it stated.
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AIDS is number one cause of death among adolescents in Africa and the second among the adolescents of the world says USA Today.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the highest prevalence, girls account for seven in 10 new infections among those aged 15-19.
In 2014, it is estimated that over 9,700 youngsters died of Aids in Kenya while 13,000 new cases were observed among children under 14. This would help achieve UNAIDS’s ambitious “90-90-90” aim of having 90 percent of people living with HIV know their serostatus by that time, as well as 90 percent of those individuals on treatment, and 90 percent of that group achieving an undetectable viral load.
The above statistics notwithstanding, there has been some tremendous progress in global efforts to break the transmission of HIV. New HIV infections have been reduced by 35% since 2000 and AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 42% since the peak in 2004.
The minister said that while this may seem to be a lofty ambition, the 90/90/90 by 2020 Target is imperative for ensuring that the AIDS epidemic ends by the year 2030.
“There has been a strong need for more data about youth living with HIV, for guidelines that focus on their treatment, and for more support that focuses on their psychological well-being and ability to adhere to treatment”, Nicola said.
“This is a defining moment for us because we can not afford anymore to keep people with HIV in isolation …”
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As part of activities to mark 2015 World AIDS Day on December 1, JCI embarked on Anti-Stigmatization Campaign in the Kumasi metropolis to sensitize the public on the need to embrace people living with HIV/AIDS, so as, to make them feel part of the society. According to World AIDS Day website those people who undergo treatment and consistently take their ARVs are likely to reduce their infectiousness by 96 percent.
