Inequalities delay progress in the uptake of HIV and COVID-19 pandemics
UNAIDS' recent report finds that worldwide goals for 2020 have not been reached, despite past years' efforts. More people know their HIV-status, more people have access to medicines and more people have an undetectable viral load thanks to treatment. Yet, the efforts to prevent new infections have been less successful. The number of new infections among adults has hardly dropped in the past 4 years. Not a single region reached the goal to decrease new infections by 75% compared to 2016.
Inequality is the running thread throughout the report. Inequalities between countries: good results of countries with strong service delivery, test policies and HIV programmes stand in sharp contrast to countries where there's a standstill or where new barriers are put in place. Inequalities within countries: worldwide factors such as income, gender, age and race strongly impact people's access to HIV-tests and treatment. The criminalisation and stigmatisation of certain groups, such as people who inject drugs, transgender people, sex workers and men who have sex with men have a negative impact on their health and awareness of their HIV-status.
The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened existing inequalities. High income countries spend billions on the COVID-19 response and vaccines, while low and middle income countries are left behind. These countries lack means to invest in their health systems and struggle to get access to vaccines. This has enormous consequences for people living with HIV in these countries. Research shows that they are more likely to get infected with COVID-19 and more likely to face serious symptoms or death.
However, the COVID-19 response can draw many lessons from the global HIV-response. The enormous progress in HIV-testing and HIV-care over the past decades demonstrate what can be achieved when countries collaborate and when the most affected are heard. The report thus warns not to make the same mistakes as in the early years of the HIV-pandemic (an AIDS-pandemic at the time) by investing in the production of vaccines for all and by making tests and treatment freely accessible to all.
The report calls for increased national and international support to end HIV, the goal to which all countries have committed with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director : "These successes prove what is possible when we do not accept the status quo and instead confront the inequalities that are at the root of so much needless suffering."