Today, December 1, is observed as World AIDS Day. As expected, countries all over, along with international development partners, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), will be highlighting the progress being made while drawing global attention to the need for broader engagement with various stakeholders, especially those at the frontline involved in providing health care and support to those affected.
However, this year, World AIDS Day 2020 is like no other as countries all over are grappling to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This in effect means that priority will go towards fighting the pandemic with HIV being placed on the backburner.
As pointed out by UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening the progress that the world has made in health and development over the past 20 years, including the gains made against HIV/AIDS.
“Like all epidemics, it is widening the inequalities that already existed. Gender inequality, racial inequality, social and economic inequalities. We are becoming a more unequal world,” she was quoted as saying in an address to mark World AIDS Day.
HIV continues to be a major global public health issue that claims the lives of thousands worldwide every year. According to the WHO, in 2017, 940,000 people died from HIV-related causes globally. And in its most recent statistics, the WHO has stated that of the 37.9 million people living with HIV at the end of 2018, 79 per cent received testing, 62 per cent received treatment, and 53 per cent had achieved suppression of the HIV virus with no risk of infecting others.
Also, according to WHO, 59 per cent of adults and 52 per cent of children living with HIV were receiving lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2017. Global ART coverage for pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV is high at 80 per cent. Thousands of community health workers and members of the HIV and key population networks – many of whom are living with HIV or affected by the epidemic – contributed to this success.
To reach the target of 90 per cent, an additional 7.5 million people need to access HIV testing services. It should be noted though that many more people with HIV are now receiving life-saving drugs, which help to keep the virus under control. But millions of people who need treatment still do not have it. For example, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most severely-affected part of the world, though some countries in the region have made impressive efforts in reducing fresh cases.
Caribbean countries, including Guyana, can boast of several successes in relation to our HIV response. Programmes to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, reduce new HIV infections and treat people living with the virus have yielded encouraging results. Additionally, the Caribbean is the only developing region that has approached the near-universal coverage of antiretroviral medicines to prevent mother-to-child transmission. According to official statistics, the Caribbean leads the world in the rates of its reduction in new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths.
In Guyana’s case, there are over 8200 persons living with HIV. In 2018, about 500 new infections occurred mainly from key populations and young people. Of the 8200 persons living with the virus, 93 per cent of them know their status, making Guyana the only Caribbean country to achieve the first 90 of the United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 target ahead of the 2020 timeline. The 90-90-90 target aims to diagnose 90 per cent of all HIV-positive persons, provide antiretroviral therapy for 90 per cent of those diagnosed, and achieve viral suppression for 90 per cent of those treated by 2020.
Globally, the COVID-19 vaccines will be rolled out in the coming weeks and it gives hope that the virus will be brought under control. However, there are serious threats to ensuring equitable access, especially for poorer countries.
According to UNAIDS Executive Director, the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic was already off track before COVID-19. We, therefore, join the call for countries to engage in renewed efforts to first get the AIDS response back on track. UNAIDS correctly pointed out that only global solidarity and shared responsibility will help us beat the coronavirus, end the AIDS epidemic, and guarantee the right to health for all.
We urge the health authorities and other stakeholders here to use this day to recommit to winning the battle against the colliding epidemics of HIV and COVID-19.
