World Aids Day - U.S. CDC: Less than One Third Have HIV Under Control

30 November 2011

From: Stephen M. Apatow
Founder, Director of Research & Development
Humanitarian Resource Institute
Humanitarian University Consortium Graduate Studies
Center for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine & Law
Phone: 203-668-0282
Email: s.m.apatow@humanitarian.net
Internet: www.humanitarian.net

United Nations Arts Initiative
Arts Integration Into Education
Url: www.unarts.org
Twitter: unarts

World Aids Day - U.S. CDC: Less than One Third Have HIV Under Control

Progress on the economic or public health front in the United States, considered the most advanced nation in the world, provides a reference point for the scope of challenges facing the International Community.

CDC. Vital Signs: HIV Prevention Through Care and Treatment — United States. Released November 29, 2011.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR): November 29, 2011 / 60(Early Release);1-6
Full Report: Url: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm60e1129a1.htm?s_cid=mm60e1129a1_w
Source: Medscape: November 29, 2011

According to this report:

Only 28% of people infected with HIV in the United States have achieved viral suppression, according to a new "Vital Signs" report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
1 in 5 people with HIV do not realize they are infected and, of those who are aware, only 51% receive ongoing medical care and treatment.

The hidden HIV/AIDS epidemic underscores the challenge presented by Sexually Transmitted Diseases. See:

The CDC report calls into question all Global HIV and AIDS statistics, since a public health crisis in the United States points to an exponentially more complicated global public health challenge.

As noted in the overview "Global Fund to Fight AIDS - International Public Health/Economic Emergency," [1] I would like to emphasize the statistics outlined the 2006 Pathobiologics International background discussion: Africa - International Public Health Emergency: [2]

The area in Africa south of the Sahara desert, known as sub-Saharan Africa, is by far the worst-affected in the world by the AIDS epidemic. The region has just over 10% of the world's population, but is home to over 60% of all people living with HIV. An estimated 3.1 million adults and children became infected with HIV during the year 2005. This brought the total number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the region to 25.8 million by the end of the year. HIV prevalence varies considerably across this region - ranging from less than 1% in Mauritania and Senegal to almost 40% in Botswana and Swaziland. -- Sub-Saharan Africa: Avert.

Although HIV/AIDS has reached almost every part of the world, no other region has been harder hit than sub-Saharan Africa, home to nearly three quarters of the world’s people living with HIV/AIDS. By the end of 2002, over 29 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were living with HIV/AIDS. Of those, 10 million were young people (aged 15-24) and almost 3 million were children under 15. In 2002 alone, about 2 million adults died of HIV/AIDS in the region. -- Africa's Orphaned Generations: UNICEF.

Eight out of every 10 children who have lost parents to HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. Between 1990 and 2001, the proportion of orphans whose parents died from HIV/AIDS rose from 3.5 per cent to 32 per cent. There are more than 34 million orphans in the region today, 11 million of them orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

Total number of orphans due to AIDS, 2003:

Nigeria: 1,800,000
South Africa: 1,100,000
Tanzania: 980,000
Zimbabwe: 980,000
Uganda: 940,000
DR Congo: 770,000
Ethiopia: 720,000
Zambia: 630,000

By 2003, 15 million children under 18 had been orphaned by HIV/AIDS worldwide. About 12 million of these live in sub-Saharan Africa, and it is expected that this number will have risen to more than 18 million by 2010. Most of the AIDS orphans who live outside of Africa live in Asia, where the total number of orphans - orphaned for all reasons - exceeds 87 million. There is however insufficient information in Asia to provide figures for the number of AIDS orphans in individual countries.

AIDS orphans represent one of the international humanitarian emergencies, outlined by Reliefweb.

"The beginning of the end of AIDS is now in sight – we must get to Zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination, Zero AIDS-related deaths. On World AIDS Day, choose your action – make it happen!" - UNAIDS: 2011 World AIDS Day campaign. See also: UNAIDS World AIDS Day report 2011 (PDF)

Importance of an International Public Health Emergency Declaration

In the context of pharmaceuticals to combat both communicable and non-communicable diseases, [3] the International Public Health Emergency Declaration [2] needs to be at the forefront of all discussions, especially during an International Economic Emergency: [1]

The TRIPS Agreement, as clarified by the Doha Declaration, makes it clear that WTO members can engage in compulsory licensing with respect to pharmaceuticals needed to address an international public health emergency.

Currently, we multiple public health emergencies in continental Africa, each that would warrant compulsory licenses for all necessary pharmaceuticals.

World Aids Day

World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988. For additional information, visit:

www.worldaidsday.org

United Nations Arts Initiative

"Arts Integration Into Education," through the "United Nations Arts Initiative" provides a unique opportunity for members of the arts community to impact prioritized humanitarian emergencies and relief operations across the globe. Efforts to "Bridge Unmet Needs to Untapped Resources," includes participation with strategic planning, critical analysis, expert think tank development for background discussions, peer reviewed data compilation and communications that engage decision makers and target audiences on the grassroots level in 192 United Nations member countries. For additional information, visit:

www.unarts.org

References

1. Global Fund to Fight AIDS - International Public Health/Economic Emergency: Humanitarian Resource Institute, 28 November 2011. http://www.pathobiologics.org/btac/ref/aiie_worldaidsday11282011.html
2. Africa - International Public Health Emergency: Pathobiologics International, November 2006. Url: http://www.pathobiologics.org/btac/UNIHR1292007.html
3. Vet2011 - Global One Health Catalog 2011 - NonCommunicable Diseases (NCDs): Pathobiologics International, 17 September 2011. Url: http://www.pathobiologics.org/btac/ref/aiie_vet9172011.html Ref: Never Give Up: Cancer Advocacy Site - HRI/UNArts/SMSI: Pathobiologics International. Url: www.unevergiveup.org

###