Washington DC:
New numbers on the global AIDS epidemic show some big successes, such as fewer deaths and new infections. But there are also some tragic failures: Only half the children with HIV, the virus that causes the disease, are getting treatment. “We are making great progress against the HIV epidemic … but the bad, bad news is that kids are lagging behind,” said Dr. Shannon Hader, deputy executive director of UNAIDS.
The United Nations agency reported last year’s numbers Monday at the start of an international AIDS conference. Progress against HIV also is being hurt by another infectious disease — the new coronavirus. Four years ago, the United Nations set goals for limiting HIV infections and improving treatment by the end of 2020, and all will be missed because the coronavirus pandemic is hurting access to care, the report concludes.
“We were already off track for the 2020 targets, but COVID-19 is threatening to blow us completely of course,” said UNAIDS’ executive director, Winnie Byanyima. About 1.7 million new HIV infections occurred in 2019 — down 23% since 2010 but far short of the 75% reduction goal.
Eastern and southern Africa have greatly curbed new infections, but they’re rising elsewhere — by about 20% since 2010 in Latin America, the Middle East and north Africa, and 72% in eastern Europe and central Asia. “We have countries in other regions that are growing a next wave of epidemics among young people,” Hader said. “We’re still seeing 150,000 kids being newly infected with HIV each year.” In sub-Saharan Africa, girls and young women make up 10% of the population but account for 25% of new HIV infections. In many cases, pregnant women aren’t getting tested or don’t stay on drugs that can prevent spreading the virus to their babies, Byanyima said.
Worldwide, 38 million people have HIV and 81% of them are aware of it. About 25.4 million are on treatment, triple the number since 2010. Roughly 67% of adults with the virus are getting treatment. But only 53% of children and teens are, meaning 840,000 of them are missing out on life-saving drugs.
Besides reaching more kids to provide care, “we need the science to come through for children” to develop easier treatments, Byanyima said. “It’s really hard if you’re a child … 5, 6 or 7 … to be on a tablet every day for the rest of your life,” or to have to conceal daily medicine use to keep HIV status a secret because of stigma around the disease, she said. There were 690,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2019. That’s down 39% from 2010 but short of the target of under 500,000 by the end of this year.
Children accounted for 95,000 of those deaths. “That’s a stain on our conscience … because treatments are there,” Byanyima said.
