The United Nations fears a doubling of AIDS deaths due to corona-related bottlenecks in medical care for HIV patients in sub-Saharan Africa. A six-month interruption in key medical supply chains due to the corona pandemic could result in an additional 471,000 to 673,000 deaths in the region, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Joint Program to Combat HIV and AIDS (Unaids) cited Model calculations on Monday in Geneva with.
“The terrible prospect that half a million more people in Africa could die from AIDS-related diseases is a historic step backwards,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. According to the UN, around 470,000 people died in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2018 from the effects of AIDS. Ten years earlier, there were 950,000.
According to the model calculations provided by the organizations, six-month supply shortages with antiretroviral agents would have a noticeable impact on the AIDS death rate in sub-Saharan Africa in the next five years. Some countries are already preparing for bottlenecks, Tedros said. Self-tests and packages with medication sufficient for several weeks would be issued to patients. Tedros urged the global community to maintain global test and drug supply chains despite the corona pandemic.
According to UN estimates, 25.7 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were infected with the HIV virus in 2018, and 16.4 million received antiretroviral drugs. According to the WHO and Unaids, in the event of gaps in care there are also threats to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Between 2010 and 2018, the transmission rate of HIV-positive mothers to their children decreased by 43 percent.
“There is a risk that the hard-won achievements in the fight against AIDS will be sacrificed to the fight against Covid-19,” said Unaids boss Winnie Byanyima. “We cannot allow hundreds of thousands and often young people to die a senseless death.” Byanyima appealed to governments worldwide to ensure “that every man, woman, and child living with HIV” continued to have access to antiretroviral therapy.
According to Unaids, around 78 million people have been infected with the pathogen since the first HIV infections appeared 35 years ago. Accordingly, 35 million died from the consequences of their AIDS illness.
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