On the 21rst of November, UNAIDS, the United Nations Aids agency, will release publicly its 2007 Epidemiological Update report. This report mentions improvements in HIV epidemiological monitoring tools during the year 2007 in a large number of developing countries, thanks in particular to investments allowed by the Global Fund these last years. The number of people living with HIV is now estimated with a better accuracy: whereas a year ago the estimate ranged between 24 and 47 million, in 2007 it has now narrowed to 30-36 million.
What is changing ?
These new data indicate that the duration required to stop the pandemic
is lower than what was commonly thought a year ago. Thus it is now
conceivable to succeed in eradicating the pandemic, provided the
international community mobilizes to provide adequate funding (0.05% of
the gross domestic product of the 7 wealthiest countries).
According to UNAIDS, in 2007 approximately 33 million people may be
infected with the Aids virus, with around 22 million in Africa. Aids may
have killed about 2.1 million during the year, while the number of newly
infected cases would be 2.5 million.
“As a person living with HIV, I am glad to learn that the number of
people likely to die of Aids in the seven years to come is less than
expected. However, what is of utmost importance now is the survival of
the 33 million of people living with HIV today: when will the G8 keep
its promise of universal access to treatment against Aids?” said Hugues
Fischer, co-president of Act Up-Paris.
What remains still the same ?
95% of people infected today will die in the 7 years to come if they do
not have access to an antiretroviral treatment. 5% of adult Africans are
concerned. Less than a third of the people living with HIV who are at
the Aids stage have a treatment at their disposal. Aids remains the
first cause of mortality in Africa.
While sick people die, the virus keeps spreading, through lack of
efficient promotion of condoms, and lack of protection against
discrimination towards the populations who are the most vulnerable to
HIV (women, homosexuals, transgender people, sex workers, drugs users …).
Act Up-Paris reminds that on the 8th of June 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy
committed himself to allowing universal access to Aids treatment before
2010 [[ http://www.elysee.fr/elysee/elysee.fr/francais/interventions/2007/juin/conference_de_presse_au_sommet_du_g8_de_heiligendamm.78427.html ]] and to doing more for the Global Fund [[<1>]]. However, his budget
Minister suggested diminishing by 7% the 2008 French contribution to
fund AIDS fighting [ [ ]], while the universal access for 2010 – reasserted
by the President – requires tripling the resources during the 2007-2010
period.
Act Up-Paris expects Nicolas Sarkozy to make his strategy known to
honour his commitments about universal access to Aids treatment during
his meeting with the associations which is organised at the Elysée on
the 28th of November.