Africa records 57% drop in HIV infections

AS nations approach the 1,000 day deadline to achieve global AIDS targets, African countries have made the most significant reduction in the rate of new Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) with an average of 57.4 per cent reduction in the rate.
A new World AIDS Day report released Wednesday by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), showed that more than 50 per cent 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.
According to the report, 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 per cent in Malawi, 71 per cent in Botswana, 68 per cent in Namibia, 58 per cent in Zambia, 50 per cent in Zimbabwe and 41 per cent in South Africa and Swaziland.
The UNAIDS report noted that 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 per cent in the last two years alone.



In addition, the number of people with access to antiretroviral therapy increased by 63 per cent in the last 24 months – AIDS-related deaths fell by more than 25 per cent between 2005 and 2011 globally.
In a reaction to the report, the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Prof. John Idoko, told The Guardian: “In Nigeria we have observed a significant drop in new HIV infection among young people who hitherto were the most affected. There is also significant drop in number of people dying from AIDS in Nigeria.
“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.”
Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, said: “The pace of progress is quickening – what used to take a decade is now being achieved in 24 months. We are scaling up faster and smarter than ever before. It is the proof that with political will and follow through we can reach our shared goals by 2015.”
For example, South Africa increased its scale up of HIV treatment by 75 per cent in the last two years – ensuring 1.7 million people had access to the lifesaving treatment –and new HIV infections have fallen by more than 50,000 in just two years. During this period, South Africa also increased its domestic investments on AIDS to US$ 1.6 billion, the highest by any low- and middle-income country.
The report also showed that countries are assuming shared responsibility by increasing domestic investments. More than 81 countries increased domestic investments by 50 per cent between 2001 and 2011. The new results come as the AIDS response is in a 1,000-day push to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the 2015 targets of the UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS.
Sidibé said: “It is becoming evident that achieving zero new HIV infections in children is possible. I am excited that far fewer babies are being born with HIV. We are moving from despair to hope.”