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World AIDS Day

Dec 02, 2024 Editorial, News

…Editorial 

Kaieteur News- On Sunday Guyana joined the rest of the world in observing World AIDS Day.

World AIDS Day was founded by the United Nations and was first celebrated on December 1, 1988. Countries in which AIDS was considered taboo are now offering testing and treatment for the virus.

World AIDS Day provides an opportunity for people worldwide to draw attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is important to remind the public and governments that the virus still exists and that it is vital to increase its awareness and educate people against prejudice.
World AIDS Day is also meant to commemorate loved ones who have died from the disease, to show solidarity and celebrate those who survive and those living with the virus, and to raise money to combat it. The Red Ribbon is recognized as the universal symbol of awareness and the global fight against Aids. The colour red is chosen for its boldness and for its symbolic associations with passion, the heart and love. Despite medicine to treat the virus, HIV/AIDS remains a deadly disease.

Since the outbreak, HIV remains a major global public health issue, having claimed an estimated 42.3 million lives to date. Transmission is ongoing in all countries globally, the World Health Organisation said, noting too that there were an estimated 39.9 million people living with HIV at the end of 2023, 65% of whom are in the African Region. In 2023, an estimated 630 000 people died from HIV-related causes and an estimated 1.3 million people acquired HIV.

AIDS affects only human beings, it is like other viruses such as the flu or the common cold, except that the human immune system can get rid of colds and flu, but not the HIV/AIDS virus.
HIV is spread through sex and certain body fluids such as blood, semen, rectal and vaginal fluids and breastmilk from mothers infected with the virus. It is also transmitted by sharing needles and syringes, etc. Once someone is infected with the virus, it stays with that individual forever, but antiretroviral (ART) medicine helps to control the virus so that people infected with HIV can live a longer, healthier and normal life expectancy. ART also reduces the risk of transmitting HIV to full-blown AIDS, which is the final stage of the virus. Despite the scientific advances made in treating the disease, it continues to affect the Caribbean, including Guyana.

Based on recent data from the World Health Organization in the Americas, which include Guyana an estimated 4.0 million [3.5–4.5 million] people were living with HIV in 2023, of which 89% [68–>98%] knew their status, 72% [55–85%] were receiving treatment and 66% [58–75%] had suppressed viral loads. An estimated 2.9 million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy in 2023. Further, the Who said an estimated 160 000 [130 000–210 000] people acquired HIV in 2023; and the number of people acquiring HIV decreased to 0.16 [0.13–0.20] per

1000 uninfected population in 2023 from 0.18 [0.15–0.23] in 2010. 44 000 [32 000–60 000] deaths were attributed to HIV-related causes in 2023, a decrease of 35% from 2010.

In Guyana, there is a high HIV incidence, which has spread beyond specific high-risk groups into the general population. Back in September a report by UNAIDS noted that globally, young people, 15-24 years, account for 28 per cent of new HIV infections in 2023 while in the Caribbean, they accounted for 27% of the 15, 000 new infections, up from 15% in 2020.  “This rising proportion of total HIV incidence among young people which ranges from 14% in Suriname and Guyana to 37% in Barbados, is concerning and warrants further investigation and serious attention, if we are to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030,” UNAIDS had said.

(World AIDS Day)

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