There’s a long way ahead, but there’s been definite progress in the global fight against AIDS over the past decade. In 2019, some 1.7 million new infections with HIV, the AIDS virus, have been recorded. This represents a 23% decline since 2010.
Confined patients without access to treatment
In Africa alone, there are now nearly 26 million people living with HIV. Of these, 64%, or 16 million people, were on antiretroviral treatment in 2018. Unfortunately, some of them have had their treatment interrupted due to the containment measures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. HIV services have had to close, or have been unable to provide antiretroviral treatment because of disruptions in the supply chain.
“A total interruption of treatment for six months could lead to more than 500,000 additional deaths from AIDS-related opportunistic infections in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020-2021;” warns the annual report of UNAIDS. It’s the second time in two months that the UN agency dedicated to fighting against AIDS has sounded the alarm.
Fear of a stockout of antiretrovirals
According to statistics provided by UNAIDS, two-thirds of the world’s HIV-positive people, some 25 million out of 38, are now receiving treatment to stop transmitting the AIDS virus. This is the highest proportion ever reached and is ten times higher than in the mid-2000s. Free access to antiretroviral treatment for HIV-positive people must, therefore, be maintained at all costs and at affordable prices. The UN agency is alarmed at the potential consequences of border closures and containment on the production and distribution of drugs.
“It is estimated that the total cost of antiretroviral treatment produced in India could be 10 to 15 percent higher than the normal price of antiretroviral treatment;” UNAIDS report, the UN agency fighting AIDS
These fears are shared by the World Health Organization (WHO), whose recent survey shows that 73 countries expect a stockout of antiretrovirals due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We cannot allow the Covid-19 pandemic to destroy the hard-won progress in the global AIDS response;” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO
This shows the magnitude of the task, while the coronavirus is far from having said its last word.
Source: franceinfo
