| – sharp decline in Caribbean deathsA key United Nations report on the state of the HIV/AIDS has found strides in the Caribbean with Guyana, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico reaching more than 80% treatment coverage of antiretroviral therapy.The 2012 Global Report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) also said that progress has been made on the treatment and HIV prevention in children, but more has to be done on discrimination.Programmes to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, reduce new HIV infections and treat people living with the virus, have yielded encouraging results.The region has recorded a sharp decline in AIDS-related deaths last year, a key UN report says.However, in order to achieve gains across the board, there must be renewed efforts to sustain the region’s response and reach those communities that are most at risk,Cheap Jerseys From China, the report said.Launched ahead of World AIDS Day to be observed on December 1st, the document draws on 2012 country progress reports. The report refers to 13 Caribbean countries: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica,Air Max Tn Plus Womens, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia,China NBA Jerseys, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.After sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean is one of the most heavily affected regions in the HIV epidemic.“Adult HIV prevalence in 2011 was about 1% [0.9%–1.1%], higher than in any other world region outside of sub-Saharan Africa. The number of people living with HIV in the Caribbean remains relatively low—230 000 [200 000–250 000] in 2011—and has varied little since the late 1990s.”Reduced deathsAccording to the report, the region has seen a sharp decline (42%) in new HIV infections since 2001, from 22 000 [20 000–25 000] in 2001 to 13 000 [9600–16 000] in 2011.AIDS-related deaths fell from an estimated 20 000 [16 000–23 000] in 2005 to 10 000 [8200–12 000] in 2011.From 2009 to 2011, there was a 32 percent reduction in the number of babies contracting HIV from their mothers in the region.“Additionally,Argentina National Soccer Team Jerseys, the Caribbean is the only developing region that has approached the near-universal coverage of antiretroviral medicines to prevent mother-to-child transmission. Some 79 percent of pregnant women living with HIV now access treatment to prevent passing on the virus. Eliminating this form of HIV transmission is feasible with continued efforts to address stigma and discrimination and targeted interventions to reach more women, particularly in the Dominican Republic and Haiti,” the report said.UNAIDS Caribbean Regional Support Team Director, Dr. Ernest Massiah said: “If you are pregnant, go to your antenatal clinic early and ask for an HIV test. If you are HIV positive we can prevent your baby from being born with the virus and ensure that you get the treatment you need to live a long and healthy life.”The Caribbean leads the world in the rates of its reduction in new HIV infections and AIDS related deaths. From 2001 to 2011, there was a 42 percent decline in the number of the region’s people becoming infected with HIV.Life-saving treatmentsDeaths due to AIDS dropped by 48 percent from 2005 to 2011.“This is directly due to the fact that 67 percent of people living with HIV in the Caribbean now access life-saving treatment.” Massiah cautioned that while these gains are significant,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, they are not irreversible.“There have been profound advances over the last decade but in order to sustain them,Caribbean governments need to put more money and effort towards ensuring that their HIV programmes can be maintained. It is in the national interest,” Massiah noted.But while the region has seen marked improvements in these areas, it must do more to address the prejudice and social inequities that operate to make some people both more vulnerable to HIV infection and less likely to access prevention, testing, treatment and care services.“Young people, men who have sex with men and sex workers are among the populations that need targeted investments and more protective environments through a combination of social dialogue, increased tolerance and law reform.”“The next 1000 days before the 2015 targets will be critical. UNAIDS will focus on accelerating access to HIV testing and treatment.”The targets include reducing sexual transmission by 50%; reduce HIV transmission among people who inject drugs by 50% and the elimination of new infections among children and substantially reduce the number of mothers dying from AIDS-related causes.UNAIDS is also targeting 15 million persons to provide antiretroviral therapy.It is also working to eliminate gender inequalities and gender-based abuse and violence and increase the capacity of women and girls to protect themselves from HIV.34M HIV-positiveIn 2011, an estimated 34 million people globally were living with HIV; 2.5 million people became newly infected with HIV and 1.7 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses.The report also shows that globally more than 50% reduction in the rate of new HIV infections has been achieved across 25 low- and middle-income countries––more than half in Africa, the region most affected by HIV.In some of the countries which have the highest HIV prevalence in the world, rates of new HIV infections have been cut dramatically since 2001; by 73% in Malawi, 71% in Botswana, 68% in Namibia, 58% in Zambia, 50% in Zimbabwe and 41% in South Africa and Swaziland.In addition to welcome results in HIV prevention, sub-Saharan Africa has reduced AIDS-related deaths by one third in the last six years and increased the number of people on antiretroviral treatment by 59% in the last two years alone.The area where perhaps most progress is being made is in reducing new HIV infections in children. Half of the global reductions in new HIV infections in the last two years have been among newborn children.The report shows that antiretroviral therapy has emerged as a powerful force for saving lives. In the last 24 months the numbers of people accessing treatment has increased by 63% globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, a record 2.3 million people had access to treatment. China has increased the number of people on HIV treatment by nearly 50% in the last year alone.There were more than half a million fewer deaths in 2011 than in 2005. The largest drops in AIDS-related deaths are being seen in countries where HIV has the strongest grip. South Africa saw 100 000 fewer deaths, Zimbabwe nearly 90,000, Kenya 71,000 and Ethiopia 48,000 than in 2005.The report shows that countries are increasing investments in the AIDS response despite a difficult economic climate. In 2011, US$ 16.8 billion was available and the need for 2015 is between US$ 22-24 billion.An estimated 6.8 million people are eligible for treatment and do not have access. UNAIDS also estimates that an additional 4 million discordant couples (where one partner is living with HIV) would benefit from HIV treatment to protect their partners from HIV infection.Of the 34 million people living with HIV, about half do not know their HIV status. The report states that if more people knew their status, they could come forward for HIV services.In addition,Andrew Wiggins Jersey, there is an urgent need to improve HIV treatment retention rates; reduce the cost of second- and third-line treatment; and explore new ways of expanding and sustaining access to treatment, including domestic production of medicines and innovative financing.Despite the encouraging progress in stopping new HIV infections, the total number of new HIV infections remains high—2.5 million in 2011. |
