December 1 is designated as World AIDS Day, a time to unite in the fight against the disease.
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She said the statistics indicates that the number of adolescent deaths from AIDS has tripled over the last 15 years; and in sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the highest prevalence, girls account for 7 in 10 new infections among those aged 15-19. The minister mentions that by the end of 2014, the virus affected 27,150 people in Australia, alone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that in the United States, there are now hundreds of thousands of people who don’t know that they are infected, and continue to spread the disease without starting treatment.
“It’s a testament to events like this and World AIDS day that kind of push awareness and raise money to battle these issues they have”.
“Transmission of HIV from mother to child has decreased by 58%”.
For his part, Abdoulie Bah, Mayor of Banjul revealed that an estimated 33 million people are living with HIV and around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25. Reaching this goal means that there must be a reduction of new infections by an additional 75 per cent by 2020, and by ensuring that, in the coming five years, 90 per cent of people living with HIV are aware of their infection and that 90 per cent of those are on antiretroviral therapy (ART).
Globally, in June 2015 close to 16 million people out of a total of 37 million people living with HIV were taking ART.
The Gender Centre for Empowering Development (GenCED), a gender based policy think tank on Tuesday called for the decentralization of global day commemorations, especially the World AIDS Day.
Free rapid HIV testing is available this week in the Lehigh Valley.
He says back then, many people considered HIV a disease that only white, gay men contracted. “There are still millions of people that need to be put on treatment”, said Karim.
Officials with HIV Alliance and Lane County Public Health attribute their success in reducing new HIV infections to their unique and long-standing partnership to end this disease. “World AIDS Day evolved as a way to bring order to this confusion and fear, and set us on the path for change”.
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Most new cases a year ago were in the state’s largest city-Milwaukee.
