12/02/2021
We may still be fighting the COVID pandemic, but on it’s important to remember what we’ve learned from the AIDS crisis about following the science and not fear to address public health challenges. Due to the tireless work and sacrifice of activist, medical providers, epidemiologists, researchers, caregivers and policy makers for forty years, we now have more tools at our disposal to help people living with the live better and prevent them from progressing to an diagnosis.
In 2020, there were 1.5 million new cases of HIV and 680,000 HIV-related deaths. While the overall rates of infection have been decreasing, dealing with two global pandemics reminds us of how inequities in access to essential services, education and support impact the communities hit hardest by public health crises: women, children, the poor, and vulnerable groups who are marginalized.
Because there’s still no cure for HIV (and no vaccine!) addressing inequality means allocating the needed resources for effective prevention, treatment and care services for those who need them the most. This means:
* Access to effective, appropriate s*x education programs for young people that teach accurate information on risk reduction and negotiation with partners
* Access to so more people can know their status and get connected to medical care and effective medications
* Access to antiretrovirals to help more HIV-positive folks become which means they can no longer transmit the virus to others as well as for HIV-negative folks as pre-exposure prophylaxis or prevention against infection
* Access to other prevention tools including condoms, clean needles to avoid transmission while injecting, and voluntary circumcision in priority countries to reduce risk of exposure
For more information please check out these orgs:
