According to a report released by the United Nations AIDS agency on Wednesday, it's possible that the global AIDS epidemic can be brought under control by 2030. The findings revealed that the number of AIDS-related deaths is at its lowest since peaking at 2.3 million in 2005.
The number of people living with HIV has remained unchanged since 2012 (about 35 million people), suggesting that this could be the beginning of its containment. However, more than two million new infections were documented last year, but the agency believes it is capable of reducing AIDS cases and deaths by 90% by 2030. This will begin with ensuring all HIV/AIDS patients are given the proper treatment by 2015.
The first step will be providing ubiquitous access to HIV testing because 19 million of the 35 million people that are living with HIV don't know they have it. In 2013, over 2.3 million people gained access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), which helps prolong the life span of these patients by stopping the progression of the virus. The UN AIDS agency predicts that their projects have provided nearly 14 million people with such medicines and believe they will help avoid 18 million new HIV infections as well as 11.2 million AIDS-related deaths by 2030.
"More than ever before, there is hope that ending AIDS is possible," the authors wrote in the global report. "The world has witnessed extraordinary changes in the AIDS landscape. There have been more achievements in the past five years than in the preceding 23 years. However, a business-as-usual approach or simply sustaining the AIDS response at its current pace cannot end the epidemic."
Education on the HIV/AIDS subject will also help reduce diagnoses worldwide. The report noted that HIV prevalence is 28 times higher among those who inject drugs; 49 times higher among transgender women; 19 times higher among gay men or men who have sex with other men; and 12 times higher among sex workers. Additionally, in Africa, adolescent girls and young women account for one in four new HIV infections. By educating these demographics of people while also providing testing and treatments to many others, the UNAIDS believes they can control the global issue.
They also may have to focus on different areas of the world, as the Middle East and North Africa witnessed a 66% increase in AIDS-related deaths between 2005-2013 while eastern Europe and central Asia witnessed a 5% increase. New HIV infections were also on the rise in western Europe (8% increase), North America (8%), Middle East and North Africa (7%), and eastern Europe and central Asia (5%) over the same time period. Such infections declined by 40% in the Caribbean.
The report will be presented at the 20th International AIDS Conference next week in Melbourne Australia. You can read more about the UNAIDS report here.
