Number of AIDS-Related Deaths Falls by 33 Percent in Almost Ten Years

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The number of AIDS-related deaths fell by a third (33 percent) in almost a decade, according to a United Nations (UN) report released on Tuesday, July 16th. In 2010, 1.2 million people died from virus-related complications. In 2018, this number dropped to 770,000.

The UN cautions, nonetheless, that there is stagnation in global efforts to eradicate the disease, which struggles with a reduction in funding.

While there is progress in treatment in South and East Africa, the continent most affected by the disease, in other parts of the world some indicators are worrisome.

In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the number of new infections has increased by 29 percent since 2010. The number of AIDS-related deaths has also increased by five percent in these regions and by nine percent in the Middle East and North Africa over the past eight years.

Record treatments

More than three out of five HIV-positive people in the world — 23.3 million out of 37.9 million, respectively — receive antiretroviral treatment, a record proportion, says UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) in its annual report.

The medicines, which prevent the transmission of the AIDS virus when taken correctly, reach ten times more patients than in the middle of the last decade.

The number of deaths last year was slightly lower than that recorded in 2017 (800,000) and one third lower than the balance for 2010 (1.2 million). And it is well below the 2004 catastrophe when the AIDS virus killed 1.7 million people.

The number of new infections remains stable compared to previous years (1.7 million).

Nevertheless, global figures hide great regional differences, says UNAIDS, which advises that the fight against the disease is not progressing at a sufficient pace.

Reduction of financing

UNAIDS cautions in its report that funding to eradicate the disease is in decline: “For the first time since 2000 the available resources for the global fight against AIDS have decreased,” alerted Gunilla Carlsson, interim director of UNAIDS after Michel Sidibé’s departure.

Last year, US$19 billion (R$76 billion) were allocated to programs to fight AIDS, one billion less than in 2017 and seven billion less than the amount deemed as necessary for 2020 (US$ 26.2 billion).

“This reduction is a collective failure,” says Unaids.

The UN program states that the situation entails “all sources of funding”: international contributions from states, investments from countries or private donations for philanthropic purposes.

Global Fund

This is why 2019 is considered a crucial year. Organized every three years, the Global Fund financing conference will take place on October 10th in the French city of Lyon. The goal is to raise US$ 14 billion for the period between 2020 and 2022 to be able to finance the fund.

The main contributors are the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan.

Barriers are hampering the work towards achieving the goals set by the UN for 2020: that 90 percent of people with the virus be diagnosed, that 90 percent of these people receive treatment, and that 90 percent of them exhibit an undetectable viral load.

In 2018, these proportions were 79 percent, 78 percent and 86 percent respectively, with many regional disparities.

Source: AFP