Note for a media
29 Nov 2012 | GENEVA –
“Getting to Zero: Zero new HIV infections. Zero deaths from AIDS-related illness. Zero discrimination” is a thesis of World AIDS Day 2012. Given a widespread of a widespread today, removing to 0 might sound formidable though poignant swell is underway.
In 2011, 2.5 million people were newly putrescent with HIV. An estimated 1.7 million people died. That is 700 000 fewer new infections worldwide than 10 years ago, and 600 000 fewer deaths than in 2005.
Progress attributed to antiretrovirals
Much of a swell is attributed to a life-saving medications, called antiretrovirals, to provide those putrescent with HIV. These medicines revoke a volume of pathogen in a blood, that increases a possibility they will stay healthy and decreases a risk they can pass a pathogen to someone else. In 2011, during a UN General Assembly, governments concluded to set a idea of removing 15 million HIV-infected people worldwide on a life-saving antiretroviral medicines by 2015. The latest tellurian statistics advise that, supposing countries are means to means stream efforts, this aim is within reach.
“Many countries are confronting mercantile difficulties, nonetheless many are handling to continue enlargement of entrance to antiretroviral medicines,†pronounced Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, Director of a World Health Organization’s HIV Department. “The 2015 aim looks some-more practicable now than ever before.â€
Currently 8 million people in low- and middle-income countries are accessing a diagnosis they need, adult from usually 0.4 million in 2003.
“The plea now is to safeguard that tellurian swell is mirrored during all levels and in all places so that people, whoever they are and wherever they live, can obtain antiretroviral therapy when they need it,†adds Dr Hirnschall.
Some groups not means to entrance HIV impediment and treatment
In all regions of a world, some groups of people are still not means to entrance HIV impediment and treatment. Children, for example, are lagging badly behind: usually 28% of children who need antiretrovirals can obtain them.
There are many reasons for this. Sometimes geographical factors make it some-more formidable to broach services. Stigma, taste and authorised issues are mostly poignant barriers to accessing effective care. Adolescent girls, sex workers, group who have sex with group and people who use drugs mostly sojourn exposed and marginalized. Migrants frequently have usually singular entrance to health services. As a result, they mostly onslaught to obtain a health services they need, including a sustenance of antiretroviral therapy.
Universal health coverage
One of WHO’s priorities is to assistance countries pierce closer to concept health coverage. The Organization works with partners to fight tarnish and discrimination. It supports countries in improving use smoothness in all geographic areas, for instance by augmenting entrance to medicines and diagnostics, and by mechanisms to inspire health workers to work in remote areas. It supports a investiture and upkeep of financing mechanisms that safeguard that no one is bearing into misery since they have to compensate for services out of their possess pockets.
Strategic use of antiretrovirals offers new advantages
While countries redouble their efforts to offer antiretrovirals to all those who need them, there is flourishing justification that a wider, some-more vital use of these medicines offers new benefits. Studies uncover that a same medicines we use to save lives and keep people healthy can also stop people from transmitting HIV to passionate partners and to infants by mother-to-child transmission.
Earlier in 2012, WHO released new discipline for treating people with HIV who have uninfected partners: adult to half of all HIV-positive people in ongoing relations are estimated to have HIV-negative partners. The Organization now recommends charity antiretroviral therapy to a HIV-positive partner, regardless of a strength of his or her defence system, to revoke a odds of HIV delivery to a uninfected partner.
Some countries are also deliberation initiating diagnosis during an even progressing theatre in a march of HIV, and by charity all HIV-positive profound women antiretroviral therapy for life.
WHO is now reviewing new systematic investigate and nation practice in sequence to tell updated and combined superintendence on a use of antiretrovirals in mid-2013.
For serve information greatfully contact:
Fadéla Chaib
WHO Communications Officer
Telephone: + 41 22 791 32 28
Mobile: + 41 79 475 55 56
E-mail: [email protected]
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