The United Nations Hopes To Conquer AIDS By 2030

Posted by: Kyeyune Andrew Jonathan in Health June 5, 2021

It has been 40 years since Doctors detected the first cases of AIDS and on Thursday, the United Nations said the virus can be defeated.

The UNAIDS agency said at least 40 countries were on track to achieve a 90% drop in AIDS-related mortality by 2030. This includes nine countries in eastern and southern Africa.

A report released by the Joint UN Programme on HIV & AIDS said that 37.6 million people worldwide were living with HIV in 2020. 27.4 million of those were said to be receiving treatment, three times more than the 7.8 million back in 2010.

UNAIDS said they estimate the roll-out of affordable, quality treatment to have averted 16.2 million deaths since 2001. The number of deaths related to AIDS fell by 43% to 690,000 in 2020. The roll-out of antiretroviral therapy played a large role in this drop according to the UNAIDS.

However, the progress in reducing new HIV infections slowed down 30% since 2010. There are 1.5 million new infections in 2020 compared to 2010’s 2.1 million. Currently, reports show that AIDS is still the major cause of death in women between the ages of 15-49 in the Sub-Saharan region.

Six out of seven new HIV infections among adolescents aged 15-19 years in the region are among girls.

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said she is optimistic that they can achieve the 2030 target. She told reporters that high-performing countries have provided paths for others to follow.

‘’We’re asking governments to focus on the inequalities that stop people from accessing services. If they can close the gaps for the particular groups that are most at risk, we can end AIDS by 2030,’’ she said.

The agency said they need an investment of $29 billion a year.

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