This December 1st the international community celebrates the day dedicated to HIV/AIDS. The UNAIDS report published in July 2021 states that in 2020, 37.7 million people were living with HIV worldwide, out of which 28.2 million are on antiretroviral therapy. Sub-Saharan Africa hosts 2/3 or 67% of people living with HIV infection. These figures highlight the impact of the fight against covid-19 on the one against AIDS.
We thought we had already overcome it, as it is no longer discussed due to coronavirus,,though it is silently still active. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is still affecting so many person worldwide and especially in Africa. 25.4 million people affected by AIDS on the black continent according to the UNAIDS report published in July 2021. Indeed, the first cases of coronavirus stressed the health systems in the world. Access to health care is consequently reduced for patients suffering from other diseases. In comparison, quick care is provided for patients infected with covid-19.
Impact of the fight against covid on the one against AIDS
The negative impact of Covid-19 on the fight against AIDS is really noticeable. People living with HIV highly suffered of the increased risk of infection of their weakened immune system. As if people living with HIV, are not extremely vulnerable to the coronavirus, the confinements, the pandemic’s restriction have hindered their access to vital treatment, testing, care and prevention services. Multiple African country studies have shown that screening has sometimes decreased by 41% during the initial confinements due to Covid-19 in 2020, compared to the same period in 2019. We are now facing two pandemics : HIV and COVID. We were already unsure about the prospect of ending AIDS by 2030, and Covid-19 takes us even further off course.
AIDS and Covid, two pandemics of inequality
Usually, in the fight against diseases, inequalities are the first obstacles. Indeed, pandemics worsen inequalities and even nurture them. People living in developing countries are the first victims. With 25.4 million people infected, Africa is the most affected region by AIDS in the world. And in Sub-Saharan Africa, the statistics are still alarming. 67% of the people affected by the virus live in this part of the world. It is also noted that the risk of infection is greater among women in sub-Saharan Africa. Six out of seven new HIV infections among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years are among girls.
For example, while developped countries are already conducting covid-19 booster campaigns, most people living in developing countries have not yet received even the first dose of vaccines. Discrimination, marginalization, stigma, social rejection, and lack of access to health, education, and other services are factors that increase the vulnerability of people already at risk for HIV.
That is why UNAIDS has decided to focus on urgently eradicating the inequalities that fuel the AIDS epidemic and many other diseases around the world. AIDS is a preventable and treatable disease. But to get there, we will need to take courageous action against global inequality. It’s a challenge we can meet.
french translation of ”Santé publique : Quand le coronavirus impacte la lutte contre le VIH/sida”, Eliane Fatchina, by Salima ALAGBE
