UNAIDS

The Beginning of the End of AIDS

Nov 30th, 2011 8:17 PM UTC
By Dr Sipho Moyo

Is it possible that the success Africa has had, in managing and treating HIV/AIDS, reduced the sting of the HIV pandemic on the continent? The fact is, according to UNAIDS’ latest report, there are more people living with HIV today than there were 10 years ago. Approximately 34 million people live with HIV today, up 17% from 2001. In parallel, deaths from AIDS-related illnesses have decreased by 21%  since 2005

This is chiefly because there is better access to antiretroviral drugs in sub-Saharan Africa, where 68% of all HIV cases worldwide are found. Gone are the gory images synonymous with AIDS, that often appeared in the 1990s to early 2000s, which left many with the sound conviction that contracting the HIV virus was as good as pronouncing a death sentence.

Much credit goes to Africa’s people, its governments and our international partners for sustained efforts in the relentless fight against HIV in Africa. A good example of such leadership among others is the government of South Africa — they are now financing as much as 80% of the antiretroviral medication for its people through its own health budget, bolstered by technical support from donors. Botswana achieved universal access to treatment in 2008, and since then has begun to see a further decline in new infections. The percentage of children born HIV-positive to mothers living with HIV in Botswana also declined from 21% in 2003 to 4% in 2010 — impressive progress thanks in part to sustained political leadership.

Today, 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have reduced new HIV infections by more than 25%, data shows that an HIV-positive person on treatment is 96% less likely to pass HIV on to others and clinical trials have proven that voluntary male circumcision reduces the risk of new HIV infection in men by roughly 60%.

These numbers tell a great story, but there are other numbers that could put to risk the great progress made by African governments, development partners and the private sector. UNAIDS statistics show that the availability of funding to combat HIV is generally on the decline while funding needed to fight the pandemic is increasing. According to UNAIDS, at the end of 2010 around US$ 15 billion was available for the AIDS response in low- and middle-income countries. Yet donor funding has been reduced by 10% from US $7.6 billion in 2009 to US $6.9 billion in 2010, and the Global Fund recently had to cancel Round 11 of grant-making due to insufficient or delayed donor funds.

This begs the question: How do you put millions of people on treatment, give them renewed hope, and then back off, knowing full well the catastrophic implications of such action?

We still have nearly 9 million HIV positive people who are still in need of treatment, 1,000 babies born with HIV everyday, and nearly two new people are infected for every one person put on treatment. This reminds me of what remains an indelible statement by Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, director general of the Uganda AIDS Commission who said, “You cannot mop the floor when the tap is still running on it.”

For all the commitment and investment our governments and development partners have made much remains to be done if we are to make this period in history become the beginning of the end of AIDS. So what does this mean? Well, at ONE, we believe that, it means reminding ourselves to recommit to measurable goals. They include:

• Virtually eliminating mother-to-child transmission by 2015
• Accelerating access to treatment for 15 million people by 2015
• Implement innovative prevention techniques to drastically reduce new infections by 2015.

These goals are by no means new. World leaders have already committed to them in various international forums. If these commitments — including commitments to the Global Fund — are renewed, together, we can really begin to see the end of this pandemic.

Mixed progress in the fight against the AIDS epidemic

Nov 24th, 2010 5:38 PM UTC
By Brooke Riley

The 2010 Global Report on the AIDS Epidemic, released this morning by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), reveals progress in the fight against the epidemic – albeit much too slowly. Globally, new infections have fallen, AIDS-related deaths are down and the total number of people living with HIV is stabilizing.

Data from the 2010 UNAIDS report estimates that 2.6 million people became newly infected with HIV and the number of AIDS-related deaths decreased to 1.8 million in 2009, compared to 3.1 new infections in 1999 and 2.1 million deaths in 2004. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region most affected by the epidemic, 1.8 million people became newly infected with HIV and 1.3 million AIDS-related deaths occurred in 2009.

By the end of 2009, 33.3 million people globally were living with HIV largely due to improvements in access to treatment. Additionally, from 2001 to 2009, the rate of new HIV infections stabilized or decreased by more than 25% in at least 56 countries around the world – including 34 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

While the number of new HIV infections is slowing and access to treatment has improved, there are still two new HIV infections for every one person that starts HIV treatment around the world. Investments in HIV prevention programs have not been adequately funded and represent only about 22% of all AIDS-related spending. Also, while some 5.25 million people are now on life-saving antiretroviral therapy, another 10 million are waiting for treatment. And, for some marginalized populations, the wait will be even longer.

Although continued improvements in access to treatment are needed, there has been progress in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV to ensure that no child is born with HIV by 2015. In 2009, 54% of pregnant women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa received antiretroviral drugs to prevent transmission of the virus to their children, up from only 15% in 2005.

At the launch of the report, Michel Sidibé, executive director of UNAIDS, said, “We are breaking the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic with bold action and smart choices. Investments in the AIDS response are paying off, but gains are fragile — the challenge now is how we can all work to accelerate progress.”

While we celebrate the progress that has been made, we are mindful that much work remains to be accomplished. Be sure to check the blog next week for a series on HIV/AIDS leading up to World AIDS Day on 1 December.

Great news for Global Health

Sep 24th, 2009 1:12 PM UTC
By Steve Wilson

It’s a crazy week with all that’s been going on in New York at the UN and Clinton Global Initiative but before the world’s attention turns to the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, I wanted to flag two pieces of great news on global health that came out this afternoon, which you understandably may have missed.

First, it was announced that an extra $1 billion has been secured in support of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), which funds major programmes to protect children from preventable diseases, such as pneumonia, measles, meningitis and diarrheal diseases. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown helped make the announcement yesterday during one of the many events in New York. GAVI will use the additional funding not only to support and distribute more vaccinations to save more children’s lives from these diseases, but also to improve health systems in comprehensive ways in poor countries.

ONE sees this as an especially important announcement in light of the fact of last week’s historic UNICEF report on child mortality, which found the number of children dying before their fifth birthdays each year had been cut to the lowest level ever on record—8.8 million. This progress was largely thanks to scaled up support for relatively inexpensive solutions, many of which GAVI supports, such as vaccinations and supplements.

However, the UNICEF report also found that although great gains were made thanks to the targeting of many major diseases, a lack of investment in pneumonia and diarrheal diseases have made them the two main causes of children’s deaths worldwide. Today’s $1 billion announcement means that vaccines that can help prevent deaths from these two diseases—which account for 3 million deaths each year—will be available soon at greatly reduced costs through GAVI.

As ONE’s President David Lane said in a press release ONE put out: “We know how to stop deaths from pneumonia and diarrheal diseases, but these conditions are the biggest killers of children under five. Today’s GAVI announcement is an important step to accelerate progress in areas where we’ve seen big results, but will also target more diseases that so far have not been targeted and that needlessly take the lives of children.”

The second big announcement was a new airline ticket programme that will allow you to voluntarily contribute $2 each time you fly to help fight global disease. The programme was announced today, also in New York, by the U.N. agency UNITAID, which is attached to the World Health Organization. UNITAID helps reduce the costs of treatment for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, making these lifesaving medicines available to those that need them.

As David Lane said in the press release: “Paying $2 to help save lives in the fight against preventable disease sure beats baggage fees.”

The initiative, which in particular will help fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa as well as help improve maternal health, is backed by several major travel industry companies, the Clinton Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Recipients of the donations will include UNICEF and the Clinton Foundation. It looks like you can expect to see the initiative start at airports this January.

We expect lots more news in the days ahead, so stay tuned to the blog. To read more about ONE’s reaction to today’s two announcements, you can see ONE’s full press release here.

-Steve Wilson

World AIDS Day Follow-up: Progress Made and the Road Ahead

Dec 3rd, 2008 10:10 AM UTC
By Chris Scott

Monday, December 1, was World AIDS Day. The global community has made tremendous progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS since the first World AIDS Day was observed in 1988. In 1996, at the Vancouver International AIDS conference, combination antiretroviral (ARV) treatment was announced to be highly effective in keeping those living with HIV healthy. Even with these medical breakthroughs, international actors were hesitant to attempt AIDS treatment in poor settings, due to the lack of infrastructure and other systemic barriers.

Fortunately, in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the global community did come together to reach poor countries through international HIV/AIDS efforts. In 1996, the Joint United Nations Program on AIDS (UNAIDS) began its work. In 2002, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was established, and in 2003, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was launched.

These significant medical and programmatic achievements have been accompanied with promising results on the ground, even in the poorest settings. As recently as 2002, only 50,000 HIV-positive people in Africa had access to antiretroviral medicine (only 1% of those in need). By the end of 2007, 2.1 million Africans (30% of those in need) — and nearly 3 million people globally (31% of those in need) — were receiving treatment. Additionally, the number of children under 15 in low-and middle-income countries who receive ARV treatment grew from 75,000 in 2005 to 200,000 in 2007.

Earlier this week, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced that 2 million people are on ARV treatment through Global Fund supported programs; this is an increase of 43% since the results were reported last December. The Global Fund has also supported 62 million HIV counseling and testing sessions, and provided basic care and support to 3.2 million AIDS orphans and vulnerable children.

These results are impressive, but the fight against HIV/AIDS is far from over. With 33 million people living with HIV worldwide (of which, 9.7 million still need ARV therapy) and 7,400 new HIV infections every day, global efforts must continue to help eradicate this devastating pandemic.

-Rena Pacheco-Theard