AIDS related deaths decline claims UN report

Bringing in some positive news, a recent UN report detailed that the number of AIDS- related deaths have nearly halved since 2005 and more than half of all people living with the HIV virus now have access to treatment. Not only are new HIV infections and deaths declining, but more people than ever are on life-saving treatment, according to data published ahead of an AIDS science conference opening in Paris on Sunday.

In total, 76.1 million people have been infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, since the epidemic started in the 1980s. Some 35 million have died.

Mr Michel Sidibé, the Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS UNAIDS program, said,  in a press statement, "We met the 2015 target of 15 million people on treatment and we are on track to double that number to 30 million and meet the 2020 target. We will continue to scale up to reach everyone in need and honour our commitment of leaving no one behind."

The UNAIDS report, gives a comprehensive analysis of the 2014 targets to accelerate progress so that by 2020, 90 per cent of all HIV-infected people know their status, 90 per cent of all HIV-diagnosed people are accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) and 90 per cent of those taking ART are virally suppressed. The report mentioned that that last year, 19.5 million of the 36.7 million people living with HIV had access to treatment and AIDS-related deaths have fallen from 1.9 million in 2005 to one million.

Since 2010, AIDS-related deaths in Africa, have declined by 42 per cent and new HIV infections by 29 per cent, including a 56 per cent drop in new infections among children over that period – a remarkable achievement of HIV treatment and prevention efforts aimed at putting that region on track towards ending its AIDS epidemic. In contrast, progress against the targets has been poor in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where AIDS-related deaths have pointedly risen. Exceptions, however, include Algeria, Morocco and Belarus, which have increased HIV treatment access from 2010 to 2016.

 In APAC region, the majority of new infections are occurring in 10 countries led by India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietmnam, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. These 10 countries together accounted for more than 95 per cent of all new HIV infections in the region in 2016.

Experts warned, however, that much of the progress can be undone by growing resistance to HIV drugs.Unless something is done, drug-resistant virus strains may infect an extra 105,000 people and kill 135,000 over the next five years, and boost treatment costs by $650 million (560 million euros), said the World Health Organization (WHO)