Nearly 40 million people are living with HIV, with one dying every minute due to lack of treatment: UN
A new UN report shows a significant slowdown in progress against AIDS. Nearly 40 million people will be living with HIV in 2023.
Nearly 40 million people were living with the HIV virus that causes AIDS last year, more than 9 million were receiving no treatment, and as a result one person was dying every minute from AIDS-related causes, the United Nations said in a new report released Monday.
The report notes that although progress is being made to end the global AIDS epidemic, progress has slowed, funding is declining, and new infections are rising in three regions: the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America.
In 2023, approximately 630,000 people will die from AIDS-related illnesses, a significant decrease from the 2.1 million deaths in 2004.
But the latest figure is more than double the target of fewer than 250,000 deaths set for 2025, according to a UNAIDS report, the United Nations agency leading the global effort to end the epidemic.
The report said gender inequality was increasing risks for girls and women, and HIV cases were rising sharply among adolescents and young women in parts of Africa.
The proportion of new infections globally among marginalised communities who face stigma and discrimination – sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs – will also rise from 45% in 2010 to 55% in 2023, it said.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said: “World leaders have pledged to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030, and they can keep their promise, but only if they ensure that the resources needed for the HIV response are available, and that the human rights of all are protected.”
As part of that pledge, leaders vowed to reduce annual new HIV infections to below 370,000 by 2025, but the report says new infections will triple to 1.3 million in 2023.
The report said that last year, of the 39.9 million people living with HIV worldwide, 86% knew they were infected, 77% were on treatment, and 72% had viral suppression.
Cesar Nunez, director of the UNAIDS New York office, told a news conference that there have been advances in HIV treatments — injections that can stay in the body for up to six months — but the annual cost of two doses, at $40,000, puts it out of reach for all but the wealthiest people living with the virus.
He said UNAIDS is asking the manufacturer to make it available at a lower price in low- and middle-income countries.
Nunez said there have also been seven cases in which people with HIV were treated for leukemia but showed no signs of the HIV virus in their bodies.
He said the injection and the seven cases would be discussed at the 25th International AIDS Conference which began in Munich on Monday.
He said currently, daily treatment with pills costs about $75 per person per year. This has helped many countries increase the number of people living with HIV receiving treatment.
Nunez said UNAIDS would continue to advocate for a vaccine to prevent AIDS.
