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The 2020 Report of the United Nations Program on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS) released this week indicated that the established global Fast Track Goals, which will expire at the end of 2020, will not be achieved.
Fast track goals include: 90-90-90 HIV treatment (90% of people living with HIV know their status; of which 90% are in treatment; of which 90% are suppressed viral), fewer than 500,000 new HIV infections a year. (a 75% reduction from 2010) and zero discrimination.
The report indicated that the global response to HIV was off course even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but the collision with the pandemic has pushed it back even further.
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a far-reaching effect on health systems and other public services, with fewer people around the world being diagnosed with HIV and fewer people living with HIV starting treatment.
The report noted that HIV services have been disrupted and key commodity supply chains have been stretched in many countries due to the spread and impact of COVID-19.
The report noted that there were nearly 700,000 deaths from AIDS-related illnesses and 1.7 million new HIV infections in 2019, even if effective prevention and treatment options are affordable and readily available.
A total of 23 countries had achieved reductions in new HIV infections by more than 45 percent by the end of 2019 and were on track to achieve a 90 percent reduction by 2030, the report said. In addition, he noted that five of these countries are located in Eastern and Southern Africa.
However, globally, new HIV infections decreased by only 23 percent between 2010 and 2019. The 1.7 million new infections that occurred in 2019 are more than three times higher than the global target of less than 500,000 new infections in 2020. The number of young women newly infected in 2019 was 280,000 and almost three times higher than the global target.
Lesotho and Uganda are among the countries that recovered quickly from HIV testing interruptions, while the interruptions in Cambodia, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa have been more continuous.
“The mandates of confinement and physical distancing have made it difficult or even impossible to carry out face-to-face meetings. Sudden and abrupt economic recessions have increased poverty and hunger, and there are fears that shrinking fiscal space in many countries will inevitably limit national investments in the HIV response in the years to come, “the report said.
Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director, said: “No country can defeat the colliding pandemics of HIV and COVID-19 on its own. These global challenges can only be overcome through global solidarity and shared responsibility. This requires the group to be bold, build on its successes and learn from its setbacks. ”
Now that the 2020 goals have failed, UNAIDS proposes a new set of 2025 goals that, if achieved, will make Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 possible to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
The High Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in June 2021 is expected to be a key moment for Member States to re-engage and mobilize to end the AIDS epidemic as a threat to public health. .
The report indicated that the new goals are holistic, focusing on high coverage of HIV and sexual and reproductive health services along with the elimination of inappropriate laws and policies and the reduction of stigma and discrimination.
38 million people are living with HIV, and more than 12 million people are waiting for life-saving HIV treatments, the report said.
Total HIV prevalence (percentage of population 15-49 years old) in Ethiopia was 0.9% in 2019, according to the World Bank’s collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources.
