‘HIV/AIDS has unfolded along a pattern we tend to see only in nightmares. It was spread faster and with more catastrophic long-term effects than any other disease. It took the world too long to wake up. Millions paid with their lives.’ – Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan
HIV is a nightmare that isn't going away.
Thirty three million people in the world are infected with HIV. Africa is worst-hit, Asia is suffering, but HIV affects the whole world.
In the Britain and Ireland, HIV is the fastest-growing infectious disease. Thirty-three million is a hard number to grasp. It’s over half the UK population.
Approximately 25 people will have died of AIDS by the time you finish this article – that’s one every 15 seconds, 6,000 every day, 2.1 million every year.
But the horrifying truth is that it doesn't need to be this way.
Once HIV was a death sentence but now drugs called antiretrovirals (ARVs) can keep HIV in check, making it a manageable condition, a bit like diabetes.
Survivable
People with HIV can live a normal life – but only if they have access to ARVs.
Yet millions in the developing world either can't afford them or do not realise they need them because they don't know their status.
And the drugs don't always work properly if a person doesn't eat enough, as our report reveals.
Also, poverty and ignorance leads many people to avoid taking the test. Those who don’t get tested never know they’re HIV positive, and never get treated. The ultimate price of this is death.
Because sexually-transmitted infections – and sex in general – can be so hard to talk about, governments often don’t like to deal with HIV; at least not until the problem is already out of control. HIV isn't getting the political priority it needs.
Christian Aid and HIV
In country after country we've seen development progress undone by HIV. The pandemic is undermining everything we've achieved for more than 50 years.
It's the most serious, long-term emergency we've ever experienced.
That's why we need to keep fighting – not just on World AIDS Day but every day.