The AIDS world is dealing with something unprecedented: good news.
Bear in mind that “good” is a relative term, especially when dealing with the worst pandemic in human history. But the data are still noteworthy:
- There were 1.5 million AIDS deaths last year, down from 2.4 million a decade ago;
- There were 2.1 million new infections, down from a peak of 3.4 million;
- The number of people living with HIV has held steady at 35 million.
With the numbers heading in the right direction, scientists and activists alike are hoping to accelerate the trend and write the final chapter of the AIDS pandemic.
The plan, unveiled by UNAIDS, aims to end the spread of HIV by 2020, and eliminate the disease altogether by 2030. It goes by the moniker 90-90-90.
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Much of the progress to date is due to widespread use of antiretrovirals for both treatment and prevention, and the 90-90-90 plan depends largely on dramatically expanding their use. (ARVs are drugs that prevent the virus from replicating, staving off illness and making people less infectious and less likely to spread the disease.)
Dr. Julio Montaner, head of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, said the plan is a good one.
“This is a natural evolution of the philosophy of treatment as prevention,” he said. “But the big question is: ‘Who’s going to pay for it?'”
AndrÂŽ Picard
The Globe and Mail
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