Global Overview and Helpful Information About HIV/AIDS

World AIDS Day is December 1st of every year. This day is dedicated to raising awareness about HIV/AIDS.

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, a virus that attacks the body’s white blood cells (i.e. the body’s defense system). If left untreated, HIV progresses into AIDS (Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome).

world-aids-day
An activist holds a banner as others march through Pattaya resort town to raise awareness on the World Aids Day in Pattaya, east of Bangkok, Thailand December 1, 2015. Reuters/Chaiwat Subprasom

In 2014 the world received with joy, the following information from UNICEF: new cases of HIV infections declined by more than 50 per cent between 2005 and 2013, as a result of expanding the access of millions of pregnant women living with HIV to services for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission.

No effective cure for HIV/AIDS exists. Existing treatment slows down or prevents the virus from destroying the immune system, enabling those who have contracted the virus to live healthier, longer lives.

An estimated 36.7 million people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide (2016 statistics).

AIDS Clinic, India
AIDS Clinic in McLeod Ganj, Upper Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India. John Hill

For the past 30 years, the fight against HIV/AIDS has been effective in containing the spread of the disease worldwide.

Disturbingly, in 2014, UNICEF also reported a rise in AIDS mortality among adolescents: While all other age groups have experienced a decline of nearly 40 per cent in AIDS-related deaths between 2005 and 2013, adolescents aged 10 to 19 are the only age group in which AIDS-related deaths are not decreasing.

Aids campaign
AIDS healthcare foundation – DC Capital Pride parade – 2013. Photo: Tim Evanson

SUMMARY (World Health Organization)

– Africa is the most affected region, with 25.6 million living with HIV/AIDS in 2016 (in 2015 WHO reported that 24.7 million people in Sub-Sahara Africa alone were living with HIV/AIDS, more than half of these cases were women).

– 1.0 million people were reported to have died of AIDS-related illnesses worldwide in 2016; as opposed to 1.5 million  in 2013.

– 119 countries reported a total of 95 million people tested in 2010

– Close to 21 million people worldwide have access to ART (Antiretroviral therapy) in 2017; up from 17.1 million in 2015.

aids-test
An Asian female laboratory technician uses the Elisa assay test to screen for HIV-I antibodies. March 1985. Source: National Cancer Institute

HIV FACTS (Worldaidsday.org)

– HIV can be passed on through infected bodily fluids, most commonly via sex without a condom or by sharing infected needles, syringes or other injecting drug equipment.

– There are now more people than ever living with HIV in the UK — around 100,000 (2015 estimate); a quarter of those people are unaware they have the virus.

– Here are a few more facts about HIV in the UK: Over 90% of people with HIV were infected through sexual contact; You can now get tested for HIV using a saliva sample; You can get the results of an HIV test in just 15-20 minutes; There is no vaccine and no cure for HIV. HIV is not passed on through spitting, biting or sharing utensils; Only 1% of babies born to HIV positive mothers have HIV;

USA (Centers for Disease Control)

The CDC is reporting an estimated 37,600 new HIV infections in the United States of America in 2014, a 10 percent decline from 2010.

  • Male-to-male sex (i.e. among gay and bisexual men) accounts for 67% of new HIV infections (up from 63% in 2010).
  • African Americans are disproportionately affected. In 2014, CDC reports: Black/African American gay and bisexual men accounted for the largest number of HIV diagnoses (10,223), followed by Hispanic/Latinoe (7,425) and white (7,390) gay and bisexual men. In 2010, African Americans only made up 14% of the U.S. population, but accounted for 44% of new HIV infections.
  • In the USA, HIV primarily occurs in urban areas that have a population of 500,000 people or more. The hardest hit areas in 2012 included Atlanta, Miami, Baton Rouge, La., New Orleans, Memphis and Baltimore.
  • Around 1.1 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in the United States in 2015. And 1 in 8 do not know it.

AIDS-Musician-ZAMBIA
A musician performs at a concert in Livingstone, Zambia, in January 2007. Photo: U.S. Department of State

HIV PREVENTION – WebMD

  • Practice safer sex. This includes using a condom unless you are in a relationship with one partner who does not have HIV or other sex partners.
  • If you use alcohol or drugs, be very careful. Being under the influence can make you careless about practicing safer sex. And never share intravenous (IV) needles, syringes, cookers, cotton, cocaine spoons, or eyedroppers with others if you use drugs.
  • If you are infected with HIV, you can greatly lower the risk of spreading the infection to your sex partner by starting treatment when your immune system is still healthy.
  • The risk of a woman spreading HIV to her baby can be greatly reduced if: She is on medicine that reduces the amount of virus in her blood to undetectable levels during pregnancy; Continues treatment during pregnancy; Does not breast-feed her baby. The baby should also receive treatment after it is born.

It is also reported that new HIV infections have fallen 35 percent globally since 2000.

According to the CDC in 2015, New pediatric HIV infections have dropped by 58 percent since 2000. Worldwide, 220,000 children became newly infected with HIV in 2014, down from 520,000 in 2000. This significant achievement is due largely to evidence-based programming to prevent mother-to-child transmission. Still, millions of people around the globe are waiting for access to lifesaving antiretroviral drugs.

(Article updated 12/1/2017)

Facebook Comments

Related Posts

Comments

Do not miss