Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the US National Institutes of Health, said finding an HIV cure is challenging but not impossible.
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A daily dose of anti-HIV medication nearly eradicates the risk of infection for people in a relationship with an HIV positive partner, a study showed on Tuesday, raising hopes of reducing HIV rates among one of Africa’s highest risk groups.
“Many years ago I came to Durban with David, and on one of our first field trips I met with some white members of the LGBT community … and none of those people wanted to have their photo taken with me”.
He was speaking at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC), where thousands of delegates from across the globe have gathered to discuss ways to tackle the virus.
A research by Global Burden of Disease said that HIV infections have increased in 74 countries between 2005 and 2015. HIV remains the number one cause of death amongst adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.
Within Europe, the highest number of new infections in 2015 were in Russian Federation (57340), Ukraine (13490), Spain (2350), Portugal (2220), United Kingdom (2060), Italy (1960), and Germany. This stunning country is home to some of the most breathtaking scenery on earth, but it is also home to some of the world’s most vulnerable young people. In parts of Latin America and the Caribbean (Belize, Guyana, and Haiti), rates exceed 50 per 100000 people. Dr Wang warned that at this rate, achieving the 90-90-90 goals – aim for 90 per cent of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status, 90 per cent of people diagnosed with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy, and 90 per cent of people receiving antiretroviral therapy experiencing viral suppression – by 2020 was a distant reality.
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Although global HIV mortality has been declining at 5.5% a year since the mid-2000s, progress has been mixed between regions and countries. She smashed the stigma around HIV on more than one occasion. In helping young people to fight HIV we would not just be ending this epidemic, we would change the direction of history for an entire generation.
