The text, published this Thursday by the United Nations Joint Program on HIV-AIDS (UNAIDS), indicated that Latin American countries have made important progress in expanding access to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment. ), but not so many in terms of prevention.
From 2010 to 2022, the number of AIDS-related deaths fell by 32 percent, but the annual number of new HIV infections increased by 8 percent.
According to experts, only nine nations in the region offer oral and on-demand PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to people from key population groups.
In the same period, the number of new HIV infections in the Caribbean fell by 15 percent.
Meanwhile, the expansion of treatment coverage caused the number of AIDS-related deaths to fall by 53 percent, with the rate of decrease varying by country.
However, diagnosing advanced HIV disease in the Region remains a challenge.
If inequalities and stigma were addressed, treatment coverage and outcomes should continue to improve, the report said.
Entitled “The Road to Ending AIDS,” the text includes data and case studies showing the “extraordinary results” of some countries around the world that have taken specific actions, and provides a roadmap for tackling future pandemics and the path to realization a sustainable development goals.
According to UNAIDS, Botswana, Eswatini, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have already achieved the “95-95-95” goals.
This means that 95 percent of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 95 percent of those who know they have the virus are receiving life-saving antiretroviral treatment, and 95 percent of those treated are virally suppressed.
Another 16 countries, eight of them in sub-Saharan Africa, the region where 65 percent of HIV-positive people live, are also close to meeting this goal.
He also reiterated that political will and funding are the two elements needed to end AIDS by 2030.
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