The global fight against AIDS is at "a precarious point": the UN

Complacency is beginning to slow down the fight against the global AIDS epidemic, with a pace of progress that does not correspond to what is needed, warned the United Nations on Wednesday.

UNAIDS reports that the fight was at a "precarious stage" and as deaths declined and treatment rates increased, rates of new HIV infections threatened to frustrate efforts to defeat disease

. The promises made to the most vulnerable people in society are not kept up, "says the report." There are miles to go to end the AIDS epidemic.

Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, noted in the foreword of the report that there had been great progress in reducing deaths from AIDS and in obtaining a record number of people worldwide. The report says that of the 37 million people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, 21.7 million are on treatment in 2017, five and a half times more than it is. ten years ago. 19659007] This rapid and sustained increase in the number of people treated contributed to a 34% decrease in AIDS-related deaths between 2010 and 2017. AIDS deaths in 2017 were the lowest in this century, with fewer deaths occurring in the 1990s. one million people. ] But Sidibe also said that there were now "crisis" points in preventing the spread of HIV – especially among high-risk and vulnerable populations – and in securing sustained funding .

It has not been matched successfully in reducing new HIV infections, "he said." New HIV infections are not diminishing fast enough. HIV prevention services are not provided on an adequate scale … and do not reach the people who need them most. "

" FINANCIAL CRISIS "

Sidibe said he did not stop the news

"I am distressed by the fact that in 2017, 180,000 children were infected with HIV, far from the 2018 goal The data from the report showed that in the # As a group of adults and children around the world, about 1.8 million people became newly infected with HIV in 2017.

Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the world. 1980, more than 77 million people became infected with HIV. Nearly half of them – 35.4 million – have died of AIDS.

Linda-Gail Bekker, president of the International AIDS Society, said that the UNAIDS report showed that the main obstacles to the epidemic were ideological and political. 19659002] "AIDS is far from over," she said. "We can not congratulate ourselves on global progress until this progress is shared by all."

The report revealed that by the end of 2017, $ 21.3 billion was available for the AIDS response in low- and middle-income countries. More than half came from domestic sources of funding rather than international donors. UNAIDS estimates that $ 26.2 billion will be needed to fund the fight against AIDS in 2020.

"There is a funding crisis", said Sidibe. While global AIDS resources increased in 2017, there was still a 20% gap between what is needed and what is available.

Such a deficit will be "catastrophic" for countries that rely on international aid to fight AIDS. 19659023] [ad_2]
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