AIDS Pandemic can be ended by 2030, says UNAIDS

According to a new UN report, AIDS pandemic can be ended by 2030, but only if leaders boost resources and protect human rights.

The report released on Monday, entitled ‘The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads’, brings together new data and case studies which demonstrate that the decisions and policy choices taken by world leaders this year will decide the fate of millions of lives and whether the world’s deadliest pandemic is overcome. 

“At the end of December 2023 30 point 7 million people were accessing antiretroviral treatment that is 7.7 million up from 2010 but still short of the 34 million target that we have for 2025”, said Director of the UNAIDS New York office Cesar Nunez.

Nunez added, in terms of new infections, there has been a reduction of 60 percent since the peak in 1995 and in 2023 1.3 million people were newly infected with HIV compared to 3.3 million in 1995.

The reduction in new cases has had a positive impact on mortality rates, leading to fewer deaths, in 2023 around 630 people died from AIDS related illnesses worldwide compared to 2.1 million back in 2004 and 1.3 million in 2010. The target for 2025 is fewer than 250%.

Funding for HIV dropped by 5% from 2022 to 2023 and by 7.9% between 2020 and 2023, which demonstrates that the decisions and policy choices taken by world leaders decides the fate of millions of lives meanwhile global new HIV infections are not declining fast enough.

In Southern Africa data collected in 2023, reflects that there has been a  59% decrease in new HIV infections since 2010, 57% decrease in AIDS-related deaths since 2010, 20.8 million People living with HIV, 450 000 New HIV infections and 260 000 AIDS-related deaths.

South Africa will be the fourth African country after Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi to receive CAB-LA donation in state clinics and hospitals as part of its health programme.

Picture by: Pixabay

”The government accepted the 96 000 Cabotegravir long-acting injectable doses, which will arrive between October and December this year, as part of a larger donation of 231 000 doses that Pepfar is releasing over a period of two years”, said the health department's director general, Sandile Buthelezi.

Done by: Sihle Jezile