AIDS-related deaths down by 40 percent: WHO

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AIDS-related deaths down by 40 percent: WHO

December 2: AIDS-related deaths have declined significantly in the recent years but people still do not have access to know the status of HIV.

According to World Health Organisation’s Regional Office for South-East Asia, ensuring all people everywhere have access to quality HIV testing and can know their status is critical to preventing and controlling HIV/AIDS.

A statement issued by the regional office of WHO says that many people living with HIV (PLHIV) lack access to testing and hence do not know their HIV status.

This, according to WHO, inhibits access to treatment and enhances the likelihood of AIDS-related complications and death. WHO warned that it also allows the virus to spread.

“In recent years member states have made strong progress in all aspects of HIV/AIDS prevention and control. Between 2010 and 2017 AIDS-related deaths declined by 40 percent. Between 2000 and 2017 new infections were more than halved, from 318 000 to 157 000. Still, an estimated 3.5 million people region-wide currently live with the disease, with around 51 percent receiving Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) and an estimated 36 percent are completely unaware of their status. This must be remedied as a priority,” the statement said.

WHO stressed the need of removing all structural barriers to access testing, including the need for parental consent for adolescents.

WHO’s South-East Asia Region comprises the following 11 member states including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.

 

 

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