Every year,
people from all walks of life across the globe collectively bring attention to
the devastating
, the urgency for rooting out stigma and
discrimination, and moving forward the global agenda for eventually
.
World AIDS Day
was established in 1988 and was the very first Global Health Day to be observed
by the United Nations (UN). Therefore,
this year marks the 30th
Anniversary of World AIDS Day. Since its inception three decades ago,
extraordinary progress has been made in the areas of
prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. Effective
preventive methods, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure
prophylaxis (PEP) are now available.
Highly effective
antiretroviral
(ARV) drugs that specifically target HIV, allow infected individuals
to live long, healthy lives and prevent transmission of the virus to others.
World
AIDS Day Theme for 2019
The 2019 theme for
World AIDS Day is
"Communities Make
the Difference", which has been proposed by UNAIDS and highlights the importance of
community participation for ending the AIDS pandemic. Importantly, the huge
strides that have been made so far in tackling HIV/AIDS have been made possible
by the active participation of communities across the
globe. Thousands of community health workers, counselors, educators, and
networks of
people living with HIV/AIDS or affected by
the epidemic have contributed immensely to the success of the global AIDS
response so far.
How
are Communities Making a Difference?
Communities around
the world are making an enormous difference to the lives of people living with
HIV/AIDS in the following ways:
- Spearheading the fight against HIV/AIDS
- Promoting HIV prevention
- Demanding access to HIV treatment
- Helping pregnant women living with HIV to have HIV-free
babies
- Demanding harm reduction
- Acting to change laws that discriminate people
living with HIV/AIDS
AIDS
and its Complications
AIDS is one of the most devastating pandemics in
human history. Despite the fact that it was only discovered in 1984, it has
claimed more than 32 million lives over this short span of time. AIDS develops
over a period of 2-15 years following
HIV infection.
AIDS can affect anyone, although high-risk groups can be
affected more.
HIV/AIDS can be
diagnosed by rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) that provide results the same day.
HIV/AIDS is treated by antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. Notably, ARVs have saved countless
lives over the decades. For example, between 2000 and 2018, new HIV infections
fell by 37 percent and HIV-related deaths fell by 45 percent, saving
approximately 13.6 million lives.
Therefore, with
proper treatment, AIDS patients can live long and healthy lives. However,
without treatment, they can develop life-threatening
complications such as
tuberculosis (TB),
bacterial meningitis, and
fungal
infections, as well as several types of cancer, including Kaposi's
sarcoma and lymphoma.
Currently, there is no cure for AIDS.
AIDS:
Facts & Figures
- 32 million lives have been claimed by AIDS so far
- 37.9 million people worldwide are living with AIDS
- Two-thirds of all people living with AIDS (25.7
million people) live in Africa
- 53 percent of people have suppressed the virus with low risk of infecting others
- 62 percent of adults and 54
percent of children with AIDS in low- and
middle-income countries (LMICs) are receiving lifelong anti-retroviral therapy (ART)
- 82 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women living with AIDS
are receiving ART
- 79 percent of people are currently diagnosed with
HIV
- 1.7 million people became newly infected with HIV
in 2018
- 770,000 people died from HIV-related causes in 2018
- 54 percent of new HIV infections in 2018 occurred
in key population groups such as men who have sex with men (MSM),
injecting drug users (IDU), sex workers, and the LGBTQ community
- MSMs and IDUs are 22-times more likely to acquire
HIV
- Female sex workers are 21-times more likely to
acquire HIV
- Transgender women are 12-times more likely to
acquire HIV
- Every hour, nearly 30 adolescents become infected
with HIV
- 3 in 4 adolescent girls are becoming newly infected
with HIV
- Over 400
children are born with HIV every day
- 50 percent of HIV+ children
receive timely testing and treatment
- 2 in 3 HIV+ children receive suboptimal medications
and don't achieve viral suppression
How
is World AIDS Day Celebrated?
World AIDS Day is
celebrated through numerous fundraising events and activities with widespread
participation across the world. The major objectives of these celebrations are
to raise awareness about AIDS, show solidarity for people living with the
disease, and challenge stigma and discrimination against AIDS patients.
'Red'
is the awareness color for World AIDS Day and the red ribbon is the universal symbol of
awareness in support of people living with AIDS. Therefore, wearing a red
ribbon is a great way to raise awareness and show solidarity for people with AIDS. It will also help to raise funds from the
sales for improving care for AIDS patients.
Global
Initiatives to End the AIDS Pandemic
There are several
global initiatives that aim to reduce disease burden and eventually eliminate
HIV/AIDS. Two major initiatives are highlighted below:
- UNAIDS's
90-90-90 Initiative: The UNAIDS has launched the ambitious 90-90-90
initiative to reduce the global burden of HIV/AIDS by 90 percent by 2020.
The salient features of this initiative are highlighted below:
- 90 percent of all infected people will know their
HIV status by 2020
- 90 percent of all diagnosed patients will receive
ART by 2020
- 90 percent of patients receiving ART will have
viral suppression by 2020
- Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG): The SDGs ensure that no one is left behind in
the fight against AIDS. Of the 17 SDGs, ten of these have a direct bearing
on the response to AIDS. A few of these are listed below:
- SDG 1: End
poverty
- SDG 2: End
hunger
- SDG 3:
Ensure healthy lives
- SDG 4:
Ensure quality education
- SDG 5: Achieve
gender equality
- SDG 10:
Reduce inequality
Tips
for Preventing HIV Transmission: The WHO 'ACCESS ++' Strategy
The key features of
the WHO 'ACCESS ++' Strategy for halting the spread of HIV is highlighted
below:
Awareness and education
Condom use - both male and female condoms
Circumcision for boys and men
Ending stigma and discrimination
Safe blood and injections
Sterile equipment and harm reduction for people
who use drugs
+ HIV medicines used before (PrEP) and after (PEP) HIV exposure
+ HIV treatment and
viral suppression
Conclusion
World AIDS Day
serves as a reminder to civil society and governments across the globe that
AIDS has not gone away and there is still a vital need to
increase
awareness, raise funds, fight stigma, and improve healthcare
services. These activities will go a long way to end the AIDS pandemic once and
for all.
References : - World AIDS Day 2019 - (https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-aids-day/2019)
- HIV/AIDS - (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hiv-aids)
- Communities Make the Difference - (https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/campaigns/WAD_2019)
- 90-90-90: Treatment for All - (https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/909090)
- AIDS and the Sustainable Development Goals - (https://www.unaids.org/en/AIDS_SDGs)
Source: Medindia