A TOP UN official said the global AIDS epidemic could be over by 2030 because of progress made in treatment and control of the disease.
“I think that 2030 is a viable target to say that we have reached the end of the epidemic,” said Luis Loures, a deputy executive director of UNAIDS, the UN agency leading the fight against HIV/AIDS.
“HIV will continue existing as a case here or there but not at the epidemic level we have today,” he told journalists late Wednesday.
Three million new HIV infections are reported each year and the disease, which attacks the immune system, kills 1.7 million people a year.
“We can get to the end of the epidemic because we have treatments and ways to control the infection,” said Mr Loures, who is in Panama to discuss AIDS strategy with UN agencies in Latin America. “We are making progress, without a doubt.”
Two decades ago the average annual cost of treatment per person with HIV was $US19,000 ($20,000) while today it is $US150 thanks to generic drugs.
Moreover, people with HIV are getting treatment earlier, which retards the disease’s development.
perthnow.com.au
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