Editor's note: While the global picture has improved since 2010, increases occurred continued in Middle East / North Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Latin America. Central and Western Africa, on the other hand, saw significant improvements.
When the United Nations last summer estimated there were 1.1 million to 1.8 million HIV infections in 2021, it called it “painful” news and an indication that “the response to the AIDS pandemic has been derailed by global crises.”
Today, when it announced its 2022 estimate – 1 million to 1.7 million – the UN’s HIV and AIDS program was far more hopeful, declaring “there is a clear path that ends AIDS” by its target date of 2030.
Still, the slight progress in 2022 falls well short of UN goals, which sought to drive down new infections of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to 500,000 by 2020, and to 200,000 by 2030.
This year, in announcing its latest figures, UNAIDS took the long view and that picture is brighter.
In 2010, it had estimated HIV infections at 1.6 million to 2.8 million.
Regional gains: Eastern and Southern Africa, the part of the world most heavily impacted by HIV, more than halved the number of new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS when compared to 2010.
Western and Central Africa also saw a similar trend.
The decline in the number of new HIV infections was more modest in North America and Central and Western Europe, the Caribbean and Asia Pacific, ranging from 23 percent to 14 percent, respectively.
Backsliding: But other regions experienced a sharp increase in the number of new HIV infections when compared to 2010, with the highest in the Middle East and North Africa, which saw a 61 percent hike. The region has the lowest burden of the virus in the world but it also has the lowest level of treatment globally, according to UNAIDS: only 50 percent of the people living with HIV receive treatment.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia also recorded a near doubling of the new infections when compared to just over a decade ago. That’s due to a “challenging legal environment, human rights violations and military conflict,” UNAIDS said. It’s also the only region in the world experiencing an increase in AIDS-related deaths, which are 46 percent higher than in 2010. The region includes Russia and Ukraine, where the groups most affected by HIV are gay men and those who inject illegal drugs.
The number of new HIV infections also rose in Latin America, albeit by a more modest 8 percent when compared to the other regions recording increases. That’s because progress in preventing infection in the region has been sluggish, UNAIDS said. Gay men and transgender people tend to be the most impacted by the virus, based on partial data from the region.
When the United Nations last summer estimated there were 1.1 million to 1.8 million HIV infections in 2021, it called it “painful” news and an indication that “the response to the AIDS pandemic has been derailed by global crises.”
Today, when it announced its 2022 estimate – 1 million to 1.7 million – the UN’s HIV and AIDS program was far more hopeful, declaring “there is a clear path that ends AIDS” by its target date of 2030.
Still, the slight progress in 2022 falls well short of UN goals, which sought to drive down new infections of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to 500,000 by 2020, and to 200,000 by 2030.
This year, in announcing its latest figures, UNAIDS took the long view and that picture is brighter.
In 2010, it had estimated HIV infections at 1.6 million to 2.8 million.
Regional gains: Eastern and Southern Africa, the part of the world most heavily impacted by HIV, more than halved the number of new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS when compared to 2010.
Western and Central Africa also saw a similar trend.
The decline in the number of new HIV infections was more modest in North America and Central and Western Europe, the Caribbean and Asia Pacific, ranging from 23 percent to 14 percent, respectively.
Backsliding: But other regions experienced a sharp increase in the number of new HIV infections when compared to 2010, with the highest in the Middle East and North Africa, which saw a 61 percent hike. The region has the lowest burden of the virus in the world but it also has the lowest level of treatment globally, according to UNAIDS: only 50 percent of the people living with HIV receive treatment.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia also recorded a near doubling of the new infections when compared to just over a decade ago. That’s due to a “challenging legal environment, human rights violations and military conflict,” UNAIDS said. It’s also the only region in the world experiencing an increase in AIDS-related deaths, which are 46 percent higher than in 2010. The region includes Russia and Ukraine, where the groups most affected by HIV are gay men and those who inject illegal drugs.
The number of new HIV infections also rose in Latin America, albeit by a more modest 8 percent when compared to the other regions recording increases. That’s because progress in preventing infection in the region has been sluggish, UNAIDS said. Gay men and transgender people tend to be the most impacted by the virus, based on partial data from the region.
Comments
Post a Comment
Please ensure you leave your name, bei either selecting your google account (if you have one), or selecting 'name' from the drop down menu. Enter your name there. If confused, leave your name in the text of your comment.