The latest report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) shows that the number of people with access to treatment for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, continues to rise, but has not yet reached one of the organization's targets. The figures show that, as of June 2019, 24.5 million people had access to antiretroviral therapy, and 53% had an undetectable viral load in 2018—a figure that should reach 90% by 2020 according to UNAIDS' targets.
UNAIDS has set a goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, and to achieve this, it is essential that 90% of people are on treatment and have an undetectable viral load, since it has been shown that a person with HIV and an undetectable viral load cannot transmit the virus.
Since the peak in 1997, new HIV infections have fallen by 40%. In 2018, there were 1.7 million new HIV infections, compared to 2.9 million in 1997. Furthermore, since 2010, new HIV infections have declined by approximately 16%, from 2.1 million to 1.7 million in 2018.
And regarding mortality, since the peak in 2004, AIDS-related deaths have fallen by more than 56%. In 2018, approximately 770,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses worldwide, compared to 1.7 million in 2004 and 1.2 million in 2010. AIDS mortality has decreased by 33% since 2010, the document details.
The report confirms that the infection is becoming increasingly prevalent among women. Every week, approximately 6,000 young women between the ages of 15 and 24 contract HIV.
Furthermore, the report notes a feminization of the infection. Every week, approximately 6,000 young women between the ages of 15 and 24 contract HIV. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, four out of every five new infections among adolescents aged 15 to 19 are in women.
UNAIDS draws attention to the fact that young women aged 15 to 24 are twice as likely to be living with HIV as young men. More than a third (35%) of women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives.
Furthermore, in some regions, women who are victims of violence are 1.5 times more likely to contract HIV infection than women who have not suffered such violence.
In 2018, 82% [62%–95%] of pregnant women living with HIV had access to antiretroviral drugs to prevent transmission of HIV to their children.
In Europe, many women in the WHO European Region, particularly those around 40 years old, are diagnosed with HIV at a late stage of infection when their immune system is already beginning to fail. According to 2018 data published today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the WHO Regional Office for Europe, these women are three to four times more likely to be diagnosed late than younger women.
The report also notes that women accounted for a third of the 141,000 new HIV diagnoses in the region, indicating that this population needs more attention in Europe's prevention and testing efforts.
Furthermore, the report denounces that the HIV epidemic is perpetuated by a persistent problem of late diagnosis, affecting 54% of known cases among women. These figures for late diagnoses are partly the result of relatively low HIV testing coverage and uptake in the region and demonstrate that the risks of sexually transmitted infections are not being adequately addressed in older adults.
In 2018, there were 1.7 million new HIV infections, compared to 2.9 million in 1997.
Since the peak in 1997, new HIV infections have fallen by 40%. In 2018, there were 1.7 million new HIV infections, compared to 2.9 million in 1997. Since 2010, new HIV infections have declined by about 16%, from 2.1 million to 1.7 million in 2018. Since 2010, new HIV infections among children have fallen by 41%, from 280,000 in 2010 to 160,000 in January 2018.
From: https://www.abc.es/salud/enfermedades/abci-mitad-personas-tratadas-tiene-carga-no-detectable-201911281413_noticia.html