EFE.- Ending AIDS by 2030 is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, but another pandemic, the Covid-19, threatens that goal, by disrupting efforts to prevent, raise awareness and treat this disease, warn the experts on the occasion of celebrating World Infection Day on the date.
In 2021 it will be 40 years since the first known cases of this disease were reported in the United States And while the Joint UN Program on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS) works to keep it short of half a century, this goal seems to be moving away as the world focuses on fighting the coronavirus.
During the first year of the pandemic, 40 countries reported a decline in AIDS screening tests, vital to preventing the spread of the virus.
The reduction of prevention programs in the current health crisis and the closure of schools, where many of the prevention programs are taught, have been a severe blow to UNAIDS, which warns that in This decade, 7.7 million people could still die from AIDS if the fight measures are not resumed or even accelerated.
“It is not about choosing between ending the AIDS pandemic or preparing for others: you have to achieve both, it is the only recipe for success, but we are not close to achieving either of them,” lamented the UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima.
“It is still possible to end this epidemic before 2030, but this will require reinforcing actions and solidarity,” added UN Secretary General António Guterres in his message for the celebration of this international day.
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40 years since the first AIDS cases
Forty years ago, on June 5, 1981, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report reported five cases of pneumonia due to a fungus then called “pneumocystis carinii”, linked to a suppression of the immune system, in five young people from Los Angeles, which is considers the first official registry of AIDS patients.
Since then, this disease has caused almost 35 million deaths (seven times more than those caused so far by Covid-19), although mortality has dropped since about 20 years ago annual highs in infections and deaths were reached.
Since 1998, the year in which there were more HIV infections (2.8 million), these have been reduced by almost half (1.5 million in 2020) and deaths, after their peak in 2004 (1.8 million) , they have fallen to a third of what they were (680,000 last year).
Vital in this has been that the number of people with access to antiretrovirals has grown from just 560,000 at the beginning of this century (one in 40) to more than 28 million today.
Africa continues to account for a large part of HIV-positive (25.3 million) and AIDS-related deaths (460,000), followed by Asia (5.7 million HIV carriers and 140,000 deaths), according to 2019 figures.
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Labor discrimination due to AIDS
HIV / AIDS is not only linked to health but also social issues, since despite decades of awareness, HIV-positive people continue to suffer discrimination in areas such as work.
In this sense, a survey published by the International Labor Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the company specializing in surveys Gallup International, reveals that around 40% of those surveyed say they do not agree with the integration of people with HIV / AIDS into their work environment.
Even more, 60% support the obligatory nature of HIV tests at work, according to the survey carried out among 55,000 people from fifty countries also on the occasion of the World Day for the Fight against AIDS.
These stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes are fueled by ignorance about the transmission of the virus, since a worrying percentage, of more than 70% ignore and believe that they can be infected with a simple hug or a handshake.
“It is shocking that, after 40 years of the HIV and AIDS epidemic, myths and misconceptions are still so widespread,” said the head of the Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Section of the ILO, Chidi King.
On the positive side, the study indicates that the regions where the stigma towards HIV-positive people persists the most are Asia and North Africa, where almost half of its population is against integrating people with HIV into the workplace.
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