The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations (UN) agency committed to eradicating the HIV/AIDS epidemic, released a report on Thursday, July 13, 2023, indicating that the possibility of achieving the end of AIDS by 2030 remains within reach. The report highlights a significant decline of 57% in new HIV infections since 2010. In Uganda, there has been a significant decline of 43% in the number of newly reported HIV infections since 2010.
Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, highlighted a significant decline in new HIV infections across Eastern and Southern Africa. Byanyima attributed this positive development to the strong leadership and substantial investments made in efforts to combat and ultimately eradicate the epidemic.
“Following support and investment to end AIDS among children, 82% of pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV globally were able to access antiretroviral treatment last year, up from 46% in 2010.”
“New infections among children have fallen by 58% during the same period, the lowest number since the 1980s,” UNAIDS reported.
The report also states that there has been a significant increase in the global number of individuals receiving antiretroviral treatment. The figures indicate a nearly fourfold rise, from 7.7 million in 2010 to an impressive 29.8 million in 2022.
According to the UNAIDS report, some countries in Africa are soon to achieve total eradication.
“Botswana, Eswatini, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe have already achieved what is known as the “95-95-95″ targets, where 95% of the people who are living with HIV know their status, 95% of those who know that they are living with HIV are on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, and 95% of people in treatment are virally suppressed,” UNAIDS stated.
However, according to Byanyima, the complete eradication of the HIV/AIDS epidemic ultimately hinges on making decisive political and financial decisions.
“Today’s leaders have the opportunity to save millions of lives and be remembered by future generations as those who put a stop to the world’s deadliest pandemic,” Byanyima stated.
According to the World Bank, the HIV prevalence rate in Uganda has declined from 6.5% in 2010 to 6.2% in 2022. The decline in HIV prevalence is owed to increased access to HIV testing and counselling, Increased use of antiretroviral therapy (ART), Improved awareness of HIV and AIDS, and government policies and campaigns such as the ABC campaign.
The ABC campaign in Uganda is a national HIV prevention strategy that promotes abstinence, being faithful, and condom use (ABC). The campaign was launched in the early 1990s, and it is credited with helping to reduce the HIV prevalence rate in Uganda from 15% in 1992 to 6.2% in 2022.
