AIDS epidemic’s end by 2030 seen – UN official

Published by rudy Date posted on September 20, 2013

PANAMA CITY – A top UN official said the global AIDS epidemic could be over by 2030 because of progress made in treatment and control of the disease.

“I think that 2030 is a viable target to say that we have reached the end of the epidemic,” said Luis Loures, a deputy executive director of UNAIDS, the UN agency leading the fight against HIV/AIDS.

“HIV will continue existing as a case here or there but not at the epidemic level we have today,” he told journalists late Wednesday.

Three million new HIV infections are reported each year and the disease, which attacks the immune system, kills 1.7 million people a year.

“We can get to the end of the epidemic because we have treatments and ways to control the infection,” said Loures, who is in Panama to discuss AIDS strategy with UN agencies in Latin America. “We are making progress, without a doubt.”

Two decades ago the average annual cost of treatment per person with HIV was $19,000 while today it is $150 thanks to generic drugs.

Moreover, people with HIV are getting treatment earlier, which retards the disease’s development.
According to UNAIDS, the annual incidence of new infections has fallen 20 percent over the past decade, and in 25 countries, including 13 in sub-Saharan Africa, it has fallen by 50 percent.

Over the past two years, the number of people who have obtained treatment for HIV has increased by 60 percent.

“The challenge is now for the most vulnerable groups,” like homosexual males, sex workers and drug users who do not seek treatment for fear of being stigmatized or criminally prosecuted, Loures said.

“If we do not succeed in controlling the epidemic among these groups, AIDS will stay with us,” he warned.

At the end of 2011, there were 34 million people living with HIV, 69 percent of them in sub-Saharan Africa where one in 20 adults have the disease.

“Today, there are a number of cases where we have evidence of a cure and that gives us great hope,” Loures said. –Agence France-Presse

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/491333/aids-epidemics-end-by-2030-seen-un-official#ixzz2mP74uN1T
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

July 2025

Nutrition Month
“Give us much more than P50 increase
for proper nutrition!”

Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.

Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar.  Reject Military!

#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos

Time to support & empower survivors. Time to spark a global conversation. Time for #GenerationEquality to #orangetheworld!

July


3 July – International Day of Cooperatives
3 Ju
ly – International Plastic Bag Free Day
 
5 July –
World Youth Skills Day 
7 July – Global Forgiveness Day
11 July – World Population Day 
17 July – World Day for
International Justice
28 July – World Nature Conservation Day
30 July – World Day against Trafficking in Persons 


Monthly Observances:

Schools Safety Month

Nutrition Month
National Disaster Consciousness Month

Weekly Observances:

Week 2: Cultural Communities Week
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise
Development Week
Week 3: National Science and
Technology Week
National Disability Prevention and
Rehabilitation Week
July 1-7:
National Culture Consciousness Week
July 13-19:
Philippines Business Week
Week ending last Saturday of July:
Arbor Week

 

Daily Observances:

First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines

Categories

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.