Greater HIV prevention needed to slow epidemic
HIV prevention and treatment efforts need to be stepped up worldwide
|
HIV infection rates are decreasing in some countries but the number of
people living with HIV worldwide continues to rise, according to a
report published by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
and the World Health Organization.
Kenya, Zimbabwe and some countries in the Caribbean region all show declines
in HIV prevalence over the past few years, says the report. Recent developments
in the Caribbean, such as increased condom use among workers in the sex
industry and expansion of voluntary HIV testing and counselling, give
cause for “guarded optimism”, says the report. However, there
were over five million new infections in 2005 and the number of people
living with HIV worldwide has reached 40.3 million. The largest increases
in HIV infection have occurred in Eastern Europe and Central and East
Asia, however, sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the most affected region,
with 64 per cent of new infections occurring there. The number of people
receiving HIV antiretroviral therapy in low and middle income countries
has tripled since the end of 2001, reveals the report. “Yet, at
best, one in 10 Africans and one in seven Asians in need of antiretroviral
treatment were receiving it in mid-2005,” it says.
In the UK, new diagnoses of HIV have doubled since 2000. The report states
several reasons for this, including increased testing and a steep rise
in the number of heterosexually acquired HIV infections, 80 per cent
of which were contracted in high-prevalence countries. Women are especially
affected, says the report, and sex between men still accounts for about
a quarter of new diagnoses in the UK, it adds.
The report says that greater HIV prevention efforts are needed to slow
the worldwide epidemic and calls for simultaneous acceleration of treatment
and prevention efforts with the ultimate goal of universal access to
preventive measures, treatment and care.
The report is published ahead of World AIDS Day, which will take place
on 1 December. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader