Why Can’t We Bring Down The Number Of New HIV Cases?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) report issued on Wednesday (the eve of World AIDS Day), said lack of HIV diagnosis is a major obstacle in implementing the WHO’s recommendation that everyone with HIV should be offered ART.

The Minister stated that considering where Saint Lucia came from, it was her opinion that this country has made tremendous strides in addressing HIV and Aids and taking care of people who are living with the conditions.

Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS and UN Under-Secretary-General, disclosed this in his message to the 2016 World AIDS Day observed on Thursday.

Currently, there are approximately 36.7 million people living with HIV and about two-thirds of these are in sub- Saharan Africa.

“Thankfully, we now know far more about how HIV is and is not transmitted, and medical advances now mean HIV doesn’t have to stand in the way of living a long and healthy life”. The survey conducted by Ipsos in October suggested that young people between the ages of 18-29 that were sexually active with 1 or more partners were more likely to acquire the disease than older Canadians aged 30-54.

As we recognize World AIDS Day, we should also recognize that this is not a time for complacency or for telling ourselves that we have won the fight against HIV. Yet we can not become complacent. “These new tools, combined with testing and treatment, have the potential to dramatically reduce the number of new infections”.

People diagnosed late with HIV have been living with the virus for an average of four years, during which time they may have been unknowingly passing it on to others.

Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history. And new medications that prevent HIV infection are showing promise in clinical trials. The government has struggled to raise awareness about safe sex and the need for regular checks among high-risk groups, with many HIV-positive individuals going untested.