I wonder how many people have heard about HIV/AIDS in their lives… I guess many of us could say that we have already seen the famous red ribbon in some place, but how many people actually know what HIV/AIDS really is?.
Today’s reality concerning HIV/AIDS is quite different to what other generations were used to. According to UNAIDS, in 2019 there were 1,7 million new infections worldwide, 690 000 AIDS related deaths and still, in many countries, more than 50% of adults discriminate people living with HIV.
HIV/AIDS is one of the main points of the Sustainable Development Goal number 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and a specific target was set for 2030: Three Zeros. Being a zero has never been this cool and we are going to tell you why:
ZERO INFECTIONS: Among the 1,7 Million new infections, 52% were among men and boys and 48% among women and girls. The goal for 2030 is to reach zero infections. This might seem quite hard but the 1,7M new infections in 2019 already represent a 23% decline since 2010. But we can do better, can’t we?! The annual number of new infections globally among women and girls is falling more rapidly (27% decrease since 2010) than among men (18% decrease since 2010). Many regions around the world are noticing an important reduction of new infections such as Eastern and Southern Africa, the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, West and Central Europe, North America, Asia and the Pacific. However, other regions have noticed an increase such as Eastern Europe and Central Asia (+72% between 2010 and 2019), the Middle East and North Africa (22%) and Latin America (21%). The goal for 2030 can and must be reached!
ZERO AIDS RELATED DEATHS: Antiretroviral therapy is estimated to have avoided about 12.1 million AIDS related deaths since 2010, which represents more than the whole population of Portugal, Sweden or Hong Kong! Out of the 690.000 deaths registered in 2019 (which already represents a 39% reduction since 2010), 300.000 were women and girls and 390.000 were men and boys. We therefore have the way of saving millions of lives! But we still have some work left to finally reach the zero AIDS related deaths by 2030. What can you do?
ZERO DISCRIMINATION: This is where we all have a role to play! Wherever you are, you can help us reach our three zeros goal by starting by reducing discrimination. Why is it important? In many ways it helps people affected by HIV to acquire the correct information and receive the health services they need. What leads to discrimination? Criminalisation of the communities most affected by HIV. You can make a difference by not judging any of the specific populations and by having the correct information on HIV/AIDS and it will allow people to know their HIV status and access more easily to HIV services.
Would you buy fresh vegetables from a shopkeeper living with HIV? The answer should be YES! However almost 52% of Nigerians between 15 and 49 years old would not. 48% in Ivory Coast and 81,4% in Jordan! Buying fresh vegetables from a shopkeeper with HIV does not affect your vegetables and people in Thailand, Viet Nam and Guyana have made great effort to avoid discrimination going from 65% to 23,25% in Thailand, 68% to 29,25% in Viet Nam and 86,4% to 29,4% in Guyana. This is good news but our goal is ZERO.
The estimated number of new infections in 2019 is more than three times higher than the set goal for 2020 (UNAIDS). Together let’s make a bigger step towards the three zeros!
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