The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that in 2021, there were between 33.9 million and 43.8 million people living with HIV around the world. Adults made up 32.3 million to 41.9 million of that group and children 1.3 million to 2.12 million. For the purposes of this data, UNAIDS designated adults as people aged 15 years and older while children were 0 to 14 years. Significantly, 54 percent of those infected were women and girls.
HIV testing is now globally accessible. So much so that in many countries, at-home test kits are sold over the counter in pharmacies. However, the statistics still estimated that around 5.9 million living with HIV in 2021 were unaware of their status. Treatment is also widely available. Yet, some 9.7 million who have tested positive for the virus which can cause AIDS did not have access to antiretroviral therapy.
HIV and AIDS were first recognised for what they are some 40 years ago. Since then, billions of dollars have been spent on research for medicines, vaccines and a cure, with only one of those three goals having been met fully to date. Still it is disappointing that the global access which was envisioned to stomp out HIV and AIDS has not yet become a reality. For this reason, World AIDS Day is being observed today under the theme “Equalize”.
Having long acknowledged that unless inequalities are definitively addressed the goal to end AIDS by 2030 will not be met, UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have moved this year to ensure the world works towards this. Along with unequal access to testing and treatment for all, UNAIDS reminds us that the twin evils of stigma and discrimination as well as economic, cultural and social imbalances remain as stumbling blocks to ending this epidemic.
To be fair, there has been significant progress over the last 40 years, particularly in terms of scientific advances. The reasons to celebrate included breakthroughs like initially understanding the disease, developing means of preventing its spread and then finding medicines that not only suppressed this immunodeficiency virus, but inhibited its transition to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, which is potentially life-threatening. That being said, however, the fact remains that not all of these advances have redounded to the benefit of the global population in the way they should. Nevertheless, it would be remiss to not acknowledge that global AIDS deaths fell from almost two million a year in the early 2000s to under one million in 2017.
Even as global health organisations hoped to build on that momentum, 2020 brought an unforeseen complication. The world saw the onset of COVID-19, which as is well-known became a global pandemic, that stirred fear, caused serious illness, took lives and amplified social and cultural stigma. In short, just what the global health situation did not need. There had been other diseases that raised concern over the years, but nothing on the scale of the novel coronavirus with its viral spread and unknown effects.
Everything basically took a backseat to the rampaging COVID-19, which is still very prevalent. As of Monday this week, WHO reported that there were 637,404,847 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world to date and 6,608,893 deaths and counting. By contrast, over 40 million people have died of AIDS-related illnesses to date, according to data gathered by WHO.
Unfortunately, global trends reveal that having shown a decline around 2010, HIV infections have seen a resurgence, including in North and South America. This has been further exacerbated by the forced shutdowns owing to the coronavirus, which affected the provision of services targeting those at risk for HIV infection like condoms, sterile needles and syringes, pre-exposure prophylaxis, and testing. There was every sign therefore at the beginning of the COVID pandemic that HIV and AIDS needed to remain on the front burner. Sadly, there were not enough resources nor was there enough knowledge to facilitate that.
History has shown us that like COVID-19, HIV was and continues to be a great equalizer, infecting all and any who fail to take the necessary precautions. It does not discriminate based on gender, sexuality, wealth, place of birth or social standing; neither should the response.
