Today 1st December, people all over the globe are commemorating World AIDS Day. This occasion should remind us all that HIV/AIDS is still a major public health problem in Africa.
There are more than 22 million people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa and over half of them are women. Over 75% of women and 85% of children living with HIV worldwide are in the African Region. In the African Region, HIV/AIDS has claimed so many lives and largely contributed to a reduction of life expectancy with grave social and economic consequences.
Over the years, some progress has been made in the fight against the pandemic in our Region. Significant financial investments have been made in the HIV/AIDS response, affordable drugs and commodities have been made more accessible to all countries, innovative service delivery approaches have been expanded, activism has enhanced the visibility of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and communities have been at the forefront of the response.
These efforts have contributed to a reduction in the number of new HIV infections in 22 countries in the WHO African Region. In 2011, nearly 6.2 million people were receiving treatment in the Region, compared with just 100 000 in 2003. The increased access to HIV treatment has reduced the number of people dying from AIDS-related causes. It is estimated that 500 000 fewer people died from AIDS-related causes in sub-Saharan Africa in 2011 compared with 2005, representing a 31% reduction.
The progress we have made so far has been possible through the individual and collective response of all stakeholders. However, more needs to be done if we are to reach our vision to treat all affected people, minimize AIDS-related deaths and significantly reduce the impact of the epidemic.
The prevention of HIV must be scaled up and broadened in all countries to include health promotion, behaviour change counseling, HIV testing, use of condoms, male circumcision, elimination of mother-to-child transmission, and safe blood transfusion. We need to ensure that everyone who needs treatment is treated; everyone on treatment is retained in treatment and care, and adheres to the prescribed intake of their medicines. Therefore, we must also ensure that there are no interruptions in drug supplies in order to enhance adherence and retention and to prevent the emergence of drug resistance. More attention needs to be paid to addressing the needs of key populations at risk of HIV infection by creating an enabling legal and social environment.
These interventions will scale up the control of HIV/AIDS and contribute to meeting the new targets set by world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on AIDS to: reduce the sexual transmission of HIV by half, eliminate new infections in children, provide treatment for 15 million people living with HIV, end stigma and discrimination, and close the AIDS funding gap. These targets have generated renewed determination towards a world without AIDS.
Therefore I call upon health care workers at all levels to use every opportunity to counsel people and encourage them to be tested. Scaling up HIV testing is particularly important as it is estimated that only a quarter of adults living with HIV know their status. I also call on countries to come together and mobilize sustainable domestic resources in addition to international funding; harmonize policies regulating medicines across countries and subregions; and strengthen regional and national capacity for the production of high-quality medicines.
Let us work together towards Africa without AIDS-related death. This is our individual and collective responsibility.