The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) says there are approximately 1.6 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean carrying the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that can cause the deadly disease AIDS.
In releasing the findings of a new report for the state of HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS Regional Director Cesar Nunez said the region has not registered any improvement in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
He urged governments to increase efforts to combat the spread of HIV, suggesting that work should be focused on prevention among younger people and at schools. “At this time of crisis, let us optimize the means, and let us not fall into complacency,” he said.
Nunez, however, said the region has the “best coverage of medicine available to HIV carriers.” He noted that about 51 per cent of those living with the virus have access to HIV/AIDS medicine.
Meantime, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is urging world leaders to take bold decisions to tackle the AIDS epidemic. He launched a new United Nations report that warned that recent gains, while laudable, are fragile.
The report, “Uniting for universal access towards zero HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths”, comes 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, and just months ahead of a high-level meeting of the General Assembly in June on the issue. “Ten years ago, the international community came together at the General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS and set targets for the year 2010. Now it is time to take a hard look at where we failed, where we succeeded, and why,” said Ban.
The report, based on data from 182 countries, said that the global rate of new HIV infections is declining, access to treatment is expanding, and the world has made “significant strides in reducing HIV transmission from mother to child.”(CMC)
