Fewer men than women can protect themselves from HIV

Fewer men than women can protect themselves from HIV – UNAIDS Report

Jul 23, 2017 News

Fewer than 50 percent of young men know how to protect themselves from HIV infection. Men are much less likely to know their HIV status or start treatment than women. This state of affairs has been highlighted in the latest report launched by UNAIDS.
The Report titled ‘Ending AIDS: progress towards the 90-90-90 targets’ was released last week. According to the Report, less than 50 percent of men living with HIV are accessing antiretroviral therapy. “Many men who are diagnosed with HIV are diagnosed late. They start treatment only when they fall ill, making them much more likely to die of AIDS-related illnesses than women. Deaths from AIDS-related illnesses were 27 percent lower among women than among men,” the Report added.
The Report has highlighted that currently there are only 43 percent of children living with HIV who have access to antiretroviral therapy, compared to 54 percent of adults. Ending AIDS also reveals that as many as two-thirds of children under two years old are diagnosed late and start treatment with advanced immunodeficiency, resulting in a high mortality rate for children of this age group. It has been emphasized that more action is needed to diagnose and treat children living with HIV.
The Report said that young people (15–24 years) are lagging behind on multiple fronts—knowledge of HIV, HIV testing, treatment and prevention. It has been concluded that “young people continue to be at great risk of HIV infection, especially young women in sub-Saharan Africa.”
But the Caribbean Region has been showing signs of improvement. Based on the data contained in the UNAIDS report, three out of four people on treatment achieved viral suppression in Barbados, Dominica, Guyana , Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. ‘Viral suppression’ means that people living with HIV have been treated to lower the level of HIV in their blood to undetectable levels. This protects their health while preventing transmission of the virus.
However, new HIV infections among young women in sub-Saharan Africa are 44 percent higher than among young men of their age in the region.” Around 610,000 new HIV infections occurred among young people aged 15–24 years; 59 percent of those new infections occurred among young women age 15–24 years.
It has been outlined in the Report that globally, new HIV infections are declining, but not at the pace needed to meet global targets.
UNAIDS has reported that new HIV infections declined by 16 percent from 2010 to 2016, to 1.8 million (1.6 million–2.1 million) .
Declines were estimated in 69 countries, in the majority of which treatment scale-up has been implemented alongside an increase in the availability of combination HIV prevention services and in some countries condom use. However, alarming increases have been seen in new HIV infections in eastern Europe and central Asia.
Based on the data contained in UNAIDS report, three out of four people on treatment achieved viral suppression in Barbados, Dominica, Guyana , Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. ‘Viral suppression’ means that people living with HIV have been treated to lower the level of HIV in their blood to undetectable levels. This protects their health while preventing transmission of the virus.
It has been revealed in the Report, too, that major gains in the global response to tuberculosis and HIV led to a 33 percent decline in tuberculosis deaths among people living with HIV. As of 2015, only 11 percent of the 10.4 million cases of tuberculosis globally were among people living with HIV. However, nearly 60 percent of tuberculosis cases among people living with HIV were not diagnosed or treated.
According to UNAIDS, Ending AIDS shows that providing services closer to where people live and work will be a key factor in ending the AIDS epidemic. As such UNAIDS is championing an initiative recently backed by the African Union to recruit and train two million community health workers in Africa to further bolster the capacity of health systems to deliver health-care services across the region.
“When health services reach the doorsteps, the health of families and communities is transformed,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.
“Community health workers,” he added, will become the backbone of strong and resilient health systems across Africa.”

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Fewer men than women can protect themselves from HIV – UNAIDS Report

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