Scientific advances still not enough to eradicate AIDS.You can do your bit to halt the infections by creating awareness. Climate Change and AIDS are connected.

Scientific advances still not enough to eradicate AIDS.

You can do your bit to halt the infections by creating awareness.

Elsie Gabriel

World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988. Ccampaigns through social organizations and social media channels are all about raising awareness and knowledge of HIV. If people have a better understanding of HIV, how it does (and does not) get transmitted, and how to live healthily with it, then we can reduce the stigma that surrounds it, reduce new HIV infections, and improve the lives of those living with HIV.

A recent U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) report released ahead of World AIDS Day has announced that though almost 18 million people living across the world have access to medical help and antiretroviral drugs, but young and adolescent girls are at increased risk of the disease, according to their Worldwide HIV/AIDS Statistics.

Simultaneously, the report has also released encouraging statistics indicating that for the last six months which is from January 2016 to June 2016 about 1 million more people have had access to HIV treatment. According to the data recorded until June 2016, about 18.2 million people including 910,000 children were on life-saving medication.

Earlier their reports had said that only 15 million people had access to antiretroviral medication until two years ago. The scenario has not only improved significantly but new HIV infection in children has also fallen drastically. Efforts to eradicate AIDS is on but the danger posed for our future generation is far from over.

There are some simple ways you can support campaigns at your level, simply by engaging with citizens of all age groups, students and community, to increase knowledge, ensure everyone has the knowledge they need to make informed choices.

Scientific advances have enabled people with access to treatment to live long and healthy lives with HIV. At the same time, advocacy and campaigning have raised awareness and understanding of what’s possible, and of the inequalities and related crimes around the world. These inequalities continue to make it a difficult challenge to access the information to prevent HIV, and to provide support and treatment for those living with HIV, in many parts of the world till today, although the world thinks that the reach has touched corners but people are still awaiting justice with issues related to AIDS.

Strong global response to beat HIV is prevalent but in remote places HIV is still wears the ugly veil of stigma and discrimination, and a cure for HIV remains stubbornly out of reach to one and all.

Twenty One lakh people with HIV/AIDS in India are still waiting to be protected officially under the new awaited laws. India had a draft floated earlier this year on the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, only last week NACO announced that the Union Cabinet in New Delhi approved it only for passing it for the Winter parliamentary discussions during sessions. It is still at a stage just away from becoming a law. If passed, it will be the way forward for caretakers and infected persons, as no one will be forced to reveal their HIV status without their legal consent. People living with HIV will be protected for sure. Of course its enforcement will see it enacted to the fullest by all the communities, organisations, NGOs and health care takers and most of all, the infected.

Research also reveals that the new HIV infections are down in India, with the world’s second-most populous country accounting for an estimated 89,000 of the world’s 2.1 million people newly-infected with the virus that causes AIDS in 2015.

India has shown a decline in new infections said a new UNAIDS report released but how far away is complete eradication is a far cry.

Globally, there are roughly 36.7 million people worldwide who are living with HIV, which led to 1.1 million AIDS-related deaths in 2015, said a new UNAIDS released on Monday ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1.

NACO facilitates Community Health Centres and Primary Health Centres which are integrated in the programme and facilitate prevention through promotion of condoms, counselling and testing for HIV (ICT Centres), prevention of parent to child transmission (PPTCT), treatment and cure for sexually transmitted diseases and management of opportunistic infections. ospitals providing HIV services are linked to NGOs/CBOs which play a significant role in providing peer support services and home-based care for people living with HIV/AIDS. CBOs also facilitate follow-up with children born to HIV positive women, support at the community level and outreach to services at the district level. Despite recent improved access to antiretroviral treatment in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claims an estimated 2 million lives each year, of which about 270,000 are children.HIV diagnosis rates continue at unacceptably high levels says NAT (National AIDS Trust).

Only last month, Public Health England had released new data on diagnoses of HIV in 2015. The data shows that rates of HIV diagnosis remain stubborn at over 6,000 per year and that testing efforts need to increase. In the United States, about 44,000 people get infected with HIV every year, .

So, the only way to know if you have HIV is to get tested. It’s important that everyone ages 15 to 65 gets tested for HIV at least once. Some people may need to get tested more often.

National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) envisions an India where every person living with HIV has access to quality care and is treated with dignity. Effective prevention, care and support for HIV/AIDS is possible in an environment where human rights are respected and where those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS live a life without stigma and discrimination. For this NACO has taken up measures to ensure that people living with HIV have equal access to quality health services. By fostering close collaboration with NGOs, women’s self-help groups, faith-based organisations, positive people’s networks and communities, NACO hopes to improve access and accountability of the services. NACO hopes that the Digital Resource Centre will be a one-stop point where all resource materials on HIV/AIDS can be made available in digital format for access by audiences from India and across the world. For NACO, the Digital Resource Centre will be a repository of all materials developed by NACO, SACS, donor partners, international agencies, UN Agencies, Indian NGOs, research and academic institutions.

And if you are still wondering if there is a cure for AIDS with so much advancement in science?No, there is no cure for HIV. But with good and continued adherence to ART, the progression of HIV in the body can be slowed to a near halt. Increasingly, people living with HIV can remain well and productive for extended periods of time, even in low-income countries. WHO now recommends treatment for all people living with HIV.

Climate Change has always affected health. Changes in infectious disease transmission patterns are a likely major consequence of climate change. According to ‘WHO’ We need to learn more about the underlying complex causal relationships, and apply this information to the prediction of future impacts. There is so much help towards HIV infected people, However, some of this progress may be lost as the planet changes, with extreme weather events and higher average temperatures cutting food security, creating refugee crises as people flee stricken regions and spread the disease. Desertification, Migration, poverty and food scarcity may spread the disease.

How can you make a difference on World AIDS Day ?

We can use this day to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and take action to support people living with HIV. Talk to parents about teaching their kids the basics of safe sex. Wear a red ribbon, the symbol of HIV awareness and support. Tell people why you are wearing it. Use SOCIAL media /tweet about Aids day. Request your Health centers to host a community world aids day awareness campaigns. Push for the bill to become a law.