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1 December 2008
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On World AIDS Day UNAIDS recommends sharpening prevention efforts
01/12/2008
This year's World AIDS Day, December 1st, marks the 20th anniversary of the observance of the day.
UNAIDS, the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, has come out with recommendations on how countries can make the most of limited resources to fight AIDS that may be further reduced by the financial crisis. Bissera Kostova reports.
NARR: As we mark the 20th annual World AIDS Day – first: the good news. UNAIDS says fewer people are being newly infected with HIV.
DE LAY 1: We estimate that the number of people infected in 2001 was three million and it has come down to about 2.7 million as at the end of 2007.
NARR: Also, fewer people are dying of AIDS, says Paul De Lay, Director of Evidence, Monitoring and Policy at UNAIDS and that is mainly due to due to the increase in access to anti-retroviral therapy.
DE LAY 2: Nearly four million people are now estimated to be receiving anti-retroviral treatment as of the end of 2008. This represents a ten-fold increase from five years before.
NARR: Yet, despite this progress, the total number of people living with HIV continues to increase, although that is due both to new infections continuing, and to more people staying alive because of the successful treatment of the disease. But still the new infections outpace the treatment being offered, as five new people are infected each year for every two people who were put on treatment. That means prevention needs to be stepped up. The message of UNAIDS is that if countries understand better how people are getting infected, they can then tailor a combination of approaches to their particular epidemic. Mr. De Lay says they also have to keep track of the changes in the epidemic.
DE LAY: In Thailand, for example, in the early 1990s most HIV infections were in sex workers and injecting drug users. Today, that has shifted. The majority of new infections are occurring among the general population and among men who have sex with men.
NARR: In many sub-Saharan African countries with high HIV prevalence, new infections occur mainly as a result of having multiple sex partners and among so-called discordant couples, where one partner is HIV positive and one is HIV negative.
DE LAY: The Uganda example in the AIDS outlook shows 43 per cent of new infections in Uganda are amongst these discordant couples.
NARR: Yet even as they concentrate on these main modes of transmission, UNAIDS says countries should not ignore the high-risk groups that require different approaches to prevention.
DE LAY: In Africa, for instance, and Kenya is a good example, we continue to see higher prevalence rates in sex workers, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users. And these are all populations that have not been focused on previously.
NARR: Since in the words of the head of UNAIDS, Dr. Peter Piot, there is no magic bullet in conquering AIDS, countries have to rely on a combination of approaches best suited to their particular environment. Michael Bartos, Chief of HIV Prevention, Care and Support at UNAIDS, says countries like Namibia have shown results with this method.
BARTOS: We see that young people are waiting longer to have sex, we see that there is a reduction in the number of multiple partners, we see that there is increased use of condoms, and together with strong national leadership, that has resulted in lower HIV prevalence amongst young women, and we've also seen in other countries such as Cameroon and Burkina Faso, quite marked changes over fairly rapid periods where combination prevention has worked.
NARR: Finally, UNAIDS cautions that development aid must maintain at least its current levels, despite the global financial crisis, in order to avoid backsliding on AIDS treatment and a resurgence of new infections. Reporting for UN Radio, I'm Bissera Kostova.
(duration: 4'03")
UNAIDS, the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, has come out with recommendations on how countries can make the most of limited resources to fight AIDS that may be further reduced by the financial crisis. Bissera Kostova reports.
NARR: As we mark the 20th annual World AIDS Day – first: the good news. UNAIDS says fewer people are being newly infected with HIV.
DE LAY 1: We estimate that the number of people infected in 2001 was three million and it has come down to about 2.7 million as at the end of 2007.
NARR: Also, fewer people are dying of AIDS, says Paul De Lay, Director of Evidence, Monitoring and Policy at UNAIDS and that is mainly due to due to the increase in access to anti-retroviral therapy.
DE LAY 2: Nearly four million people are now estimated to be receiving anti-retroviral treatment as of the end of 2008. This represents a ten-fold increase from five years before.
NARR: Yet, despite this progress, the total number of people living with HIV continues to increase, although that is due both to new infections continuing, and to more people staying alive because of the successful treatment of the disease. But still the new infections outpace the treatment being offered, as five new people are infected each year for every two people who were put on treatment. That means prevention needs to be stepped up. The message of UNAIDS is that if countries understand better how people are getting infected, they can then tailor a combination of approaches to their particular epidemic. Mr. De Lay says they also have to keep track of the changes in the epidemic.
DE LAY: In Thailand, for example, in the early 1990s most HIV infections were in sex workers and injecting drug users. Today, that has shifted. The majority of new infections are occurring among the general population and among men who have sex with men.
NARR: In many sub-Saharan African countries with high HIV prevalence, new infections occur mainly as a result of having multiple sex partners and among so-called discordant couples, where one partner is HIV positive and one is HIV negative.
DE LAY: The Uganda example in the AIDS outlook shows 43 per cent of new infections in Uganda are amongst these discordant couples.
NARR: Yet even as they concentrate on these main modes of transmission, UNAIDS says countries should not ignore the high-risk groups that require different approaches to prevention.
DE LAY: In Africa, for instance, and Kenya is a good example, we continue to see higher prevalence rates in sex workers, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users. And these are all populations that have not been focused on previously.
NARR: Since in the words of the head of UNAIDS, Dr. Peter Piot, there is no magic bullet in conquering AIDS, countries have to rely on a combination of approaches best suited to their particular environment. Michael Bartos, Chief of HIV Prevention, Care and Support at UNAIDS, says countries like Namibia have shown results with this method.
BARTOS: We see that young people are waiting longer to have sex, we see that there is a reduction in the number of multiple partners, we see that there is increased use of condoms, and together with strong national leadership, that has resulted in lower HIV prevalence amongst young women, and we've also seen in other countries such as Cameroon and Burkina Faso, quite marked changes over fairly rapid periods where combination prevention has worked.
NARR: Finally, UNAIDS cautions that development aid must maintain at least its current levels, despite the global financial crisis, in order to avoid backsliding on AIDS treatment and a resurgence of new infections. Reporting for UN Radio, I'm Bissera Kostova.
(duration: 4'03")
